The Sentient
by Reynold J. Dalton
Summary: Draft 2,Complete. A powerful psychic seeks an ancient medallion of power, but it falls into Ash's hands. Read and Review please.
1. The Hidden Shrine

Author's note: If this is your first time reading my story, do not read the reviews. There are spoilers which will ruin the climax of the story.

1 The Hidden Shrine

The faint glimmer of the quarter moon made the shadows dance as the clouds swirled about it. The foliage stirred with the gentle autumn breeze drifting through trees, spreading the whispers of the forest to all who had ears to hear it. The soft, chill breath of the night, just loud enough to be distracting, muffled the sounds of movement. Had anything been about, it would have been a perfect night for nocturnal hunters to seek out their prey and yet, not a single creature stirred while the stranger was in the forest.

He felt wrong, this tall stranger. His mere presence bore an ominous aura of dread with him that even wildest of pokemon would not dare to disturb. An unnatural chill, like the touch of death's bony hand, hung about him, stabbing every creature that drew near him with icy spears of terror. His purpose remained unclear, but his ill intent radiated from his very body and, while no normal human would sense it, the pokemon understood clearly. This human was evil.

Even in the dim light, the fluttering pale blue cape that draped over his gray and white garments made him stand out in contrast to the darker surroundings. If he had any pursuers-which, at this point, would not have surprised him-they could have easily spotted him, but this didn't make him feel overly concerned. He would be aware of their approach long before they would ever suspect that he knew. No one had ever taken Artemis Jin'ei by surprise.

He stopped and sat down beneath a large oak tree, straining his back to avoid resting against it. Terrified by his icy presence, a noctowl leapt from its perch in the branches overhead and flew away, while inside the hollowed trunk, several caterpie squirmed against the back of it, desperately wishing to escape, but afraid to approach the man enough to wriggle through the opening. Jin'ei took no notice of any of it as he slipped his bag off of his shoulder.

Where was it?

Wanting to make sure of his path, he removed his tinted glasses and withdrew the stolen book from his bag. The book had a brown, leather binding and the letters of its title were traced with gold. To most, the characters that made up the book's text would have seemed to be nothing more than indecipherable scribbles. The language that the book was written in hadn't been spoken in centuries and its alphabet was all but forgotten. Jin'ei, however, had spent years studying the ancient languages and he had become well acquainted with the words.

His eyes, disks of amber floating in pools of blood, narrowed as he skimmed the ancient writings. His normally soft facial features now appeared harsh from his scowl of frustration. Even with the book's vague instructions, he should have found it by now. He had been searching the mountains for over an hour. One did not simply hide a shrine of such size as the book described without leaving traces of its whereabouts to be found.

Running his delicate fingers through his stark white mane of hair, he closed the book and returned it to its place, a bewildered sigh escaping his lungs as he remembered the trouble he had gone through to get it.

The name of Artemis Jin'ei was known to many people, but little of the truth about him was known. Only a handful of small groups knew who he really was and to those few, his reputation was well earned. The previous owner of the book he now held knew of him all to well and had been quite unwilling to relinquish his claim on it. In the end, he had been forced to convince the old man by driving the blade of a dagger into his heart. It never ceased to amaze Jin'ei how effortlessly a blade could plunge through cloth and flesh to the most vital spots of the human body. Truly, people were weak, miserable things.

He growled at that thought. He hated killing; it was such messy business and blood was so hard to clean from fabric. It was something to be left to petty criminals, not refined people such as him. Of course, the possibilities of a simple street thug being able to kill sorcerer as powerful as that one had been were very unlikely. Besides, as close as he was to the goal that had been his obsession for so many years, he didn't have the patience to waste time negotiating with such scum anyhow.

Drawing a deep breath to calm himself, he let his mind seek out the emanations given off by the treasure he sought, forcing all the distractions of his physical senses out of his mind. He ceased to hear the sounds of the forest, to feel the touch of the grass beneath him or the cold wind. As his eyes lost focus, his mind sharpened, conjuring images of swirling colors that represented the different fields of energies of which normal humans were not aware. He did not actually _see_ them; there was nothing there to see. Rather, he felt them all about him and his mind created the visuals as he thought they should be. He saw the wind as a swirling transparency, as though looking through propane vapors, while clouds of brilliant green radiated from trees, the animals various shades of orange and yellow. More importantly, a faint, colorless light emanated from somewhere in the distance.

It was close! He could feel the power radiating through the forest. Not an impressive signal, in fact, he wouldn't have noticed it if he hadn't known what he was looking for, but he had no doubt that he had found it.

With a self-satisfied smile that revealed his pristine teeth, he replaced his glasses and continued on. His hands clenched and unclenched with anticipation as he felt the waves of energy grow clearer with every step he took. Each passing minute became an hour to him as he drew nearer. His body trembled with ebullience at the thought of what would soon be his and compulsive clucks of laughter escaped him from time to time.

The trees thinned out as he came to deep gorge. He looked down to the bottom, some hundreds of feet below, where the river that had carved the gorge ages ago still flowed nonchalantly through. It was another two hundred feet to the other side of the ravine, with a nearly vertical ascension up the rock cliffs on either side. It would take him hours to find a safe place to scale them and several more hours just to actually climb them.

He didn't have the time for that!

As he had done so many times before, he called on the strength of his mind to aid him, lifting himself a few inches off of the ground. With a single thought, he continued forward, easily hovering across the chasm. As he was about to set foot on the other side a few moments later, he felt a different energy radiating below him. Moving back a bit, he gently floated down the gorge until he reached the point where the signal was strongest, almost halfway down.

His eyebrow cocked in confusion. He felt an overpowering field of energy, but nothing more than a blank granite wall loomed unimpressively. His lips parted into a cynical smile when the truth suddenly became apparent. He pointed the palm of his hand toward the wall and began to fill the area with psychic energy.

Impressive strength had gone into spell, but against Jin'ei's continual mental bombardments, the magic quickly broke apart. The air seemed to shiver as the illusory veil was swept away, revealing the entrance to the hidden shrine, a square opening ten feet in width and height. The entrance was guarded by sculptures of the three legendary birds, carved right out of the face of the cliff; Articuno on the right, Moltres on the left and Zapdos above.

"My, you've spent a lot of time on decorative architecture," Jin'ei chuckled, stroking the inside rim of his left ear with one finger.

With the illusionary field dissipated, the only energy he could feel came from within the shrine, but something didn't seem quite right. Reaching into his bag, he retrieved the book again and opened it. Jin'ei hadn't survived so long by being careless and he wasn't about to make a mistake now.

Removing his glasses, he looked through the pages until he found mention of the three carvings. He frowned in disappointment. The book gave details about the sculptures' carving and their dimensions, but there was no mention as to whether or not there were any enchantments on them. He took a few minutes to read the entire section and found nothing about the shrine's defenses.

He closed the book, his irritation easily recognizable in his expression. It was an incomplete entry! After all his searching, had he taken the wrong book? He had been in such a rush to find his treasure that he hadn't taken the time to completely read the tome. Certainly every book of artifacts had some mention of the object he was after, as powerful as it was.

"Damn," he whispered to himself.

He put the book away and stared at the entrance for a long moment, trying to decide what to do. He would be taking a great risk if he went into the shrine without full knowledge of what he would be facing. Now that he had found the entrance, he could always return later, after he had found another book with more complete information.

On the other hand, it had taken him years to find the location of the book he currently had with him. It might take him just as long to find another one. He had no intention of waiting any longer, not when his goal was right in front of him. He was not going to turn back now.

Cautiously, he floated over toward the entrance, keeping a close eye on the three sculptures in case they were more than what they seemed. He set himself down inside the opening as gently as a falling feather.

Nothing.

He turned to look at the statues again, his mouth curved down in a disappointed scowl. They were extremely detailed in craftsmanship, but apparently not magical. Sighing and shaking his head with disappointment, he turned away from them and stared down the long, dark tunnel.

"They should have been," he grumbled, frustrated. "Sorcerers were always infamous for their value of prudence over aesthetics."

Looking around, he spied an unlit torch hanging on the wall. He took it down and held it out before him. Smoke issued from the stick as he focused his thoughts on it, bursting into flames.

Jin'ei's face scrunched up with disgust when he saw the tunnel in the light. Cobwebs hung lazily from the ceiling the entire length of the corridor. The walls were lined with mildew, which explained the pungent odor and the strange texture. Even though he had expected such a sight, the thought of continuing down the path repulsed him. Remembering the treasure that awaited him, he steeled himself against his antipathy and continued. He took extra care not to touch the walls and brushed the webs aside with the torch as he passed, taking satisfaction in watching the flames consumed them.

Setting the last of webs ablaze and sending the spinaraks scuttling bitterly away, Jin'ei stepped out of the tunnel and into the long forgotten shrine, noting the peculiar shape of the pillars on either side of the door. Upon closer scrutiny, he realized that they weren't pillars at all, but the legs of gigantic statue. It's four arms flexed and prepared to strike, the towering stone machamp glared down on the room.

Holding the torch out before him, he absorbed the details of the shrine with a sense of elation he hadn't felt in years. The room stretched up far beyond the range of vision his torch provided and enormous piles of gold and jewels rose up all around him. There was enough wealth in a single corner of the shrine to increase the fortune of the richest man in the world five times, perhaps even more than that.

Jin'ei burst out laughing.

A distraction. All of it was nothing more than a distraction. He would not be tempted by the lure of mere wealth. His intent was for something of far greater value than gold. Stepping over the scattered coins without so much as a second glance, he approached the center of the shrine, where, on a raised pedestal, like a museum display case, rested the prize he desired.

A palm-sized, bronze medallion with a plain cloth strap sat on the pedestal. It had no identifying marks beyond the small, diamond-shaped hole in its center. Compared to the mountains of treasure all about, it appeared almost worthless. Anyone else would have ignored the trinket, but Jin'ei was not fooled by its appearance. He could feel the power stored within it. He reached out to take it, his eyes gleaming with desire.

With a sudden cry of pain, he jerked his had back. Electricity crackled angrily around the medallion for a moment, then faded. Growling, Jin'ei glared at his scorched fingertips.

"I won't be stopped," he hissed.

He focused his thoughts on the medallion and the electrical field sparkled to life once again. Exerting himself harder, he forced a gap to open up between the arcing currents and then caused the medallion to lift off from its resting place and float out of its shield. He allowed it to hover over his trembling hands for a moment, then let it drop into his eager grasp.

"At last," he whispered, his voice quaking with ecstasy. "It is mine. Cerebral!"

The medallion glowed softly in seeming protest, as though rejecting his claim. Jin'ei smiled cruelly.

"You resist me?" he asked smugly. "Does my intent displease you? It doesn't matter. There's nothing you can do about it now."

The Cerebral's glow grew more intense. Suddenly, the air exploded with light as the thousands of torches and braziers in the room began to burn. He heard a rumble of grinding stone, followed by a resounding thud and felt a quake pass through the ground beneath his feet. Slipping his treasure into his bag, he turned to flee.

Shards of rock exploded into the air as a giant stone fist came down, crushing the pedestal. Jin'ei hovered in the air just a few feet from the spot where his corpse would have been if he had only been the slightest bit slower to react, his heart pounding furiously from the shock. The machamp statue pulled its fist away and took another earthshaking step forward. Another echoing impact came from behind. Glancing over his shoulder, Jin'ei saw a second statue approaching him.

Grunting from the strain of such evasive action, he darted through the air, dodging past the surprisingly quick swipes of the eight attacking arms. Even Jin'ei had to admire the time and energy that had been put into creating the guardians. As they closed in, he quickly realized that their fists were not flying wildly. The two statues attacked with marvelously coordinated strikes, each swinging punch herding him toward another. Before each blow landed, he had to determine which would be the next to strike before dodging.

And then he caught a mistake, two attacks coming too quickly. Dropping to the ground and then darting under one of the statues' legs, he launched a psychic bolt into the back of its knee, shattering the joint. The stone beast teetered for a moment, then toppled to the ground, dashing apart on impact.

Jin'ei shot upward as one of remaining statue's hands struck for him, right into the waiting grasp of another. The fist closed around his body, pinning his arms to his side. The golem began to squeeze, intending to crush its tiny victim.

"Somehow I believe that you'll have to do better than this," Jin'ei growled.

An aura of cold, lavender flames surrounded Jin'ei's form. The statue's grip weakened as cracks appeared wherever the flames licked at it. With a triumphant shout, Jin'ei broke free of its grip, sending the hand to the ground in pieces. A maniacal grin on his face, Jin'ei pointed toward his attacker and let loose a barrage of psyonic missiles. The stone skin shivered apart beneath the assault and within seconds the giant golem dropped to the ground as rubble.

Jin'ei landed amidst the debris and took a moment to dust himself off. Reaching into the bag, he retrieved the medallion, gloating over his treasure.

"That was certainly exciting," he remarked. "Though, I would've expected something more than animated statues from the sorcerers of the ancient days. It seems a bit cliché. Perhaps the legends were exaggerated."

Shrugging resignedly, he started back down the tunnel, admiring his prize. So many years had he waited for this and now his goal was complete. With the power of Cerebral at his command, none could overpower him, not even the conclave. He would be the ruler now.

To rule. Now that was something that a person of his blood was meant for. No more murder, no more hiding his secrets from his enemies, just absolute control. It was what he deserved, was destined to achieve. People had fought against it for so long, but now, he had the upper hand. Things were going to be different from now on.

_'I can't believe it was this easy,'_ he thought to himself as he took off from the edge of the tunnel.

When he heard a sudden grinding sound, he realized his mistake. He dodged sharply to the side to avoid the coming attack. Not quite fast enough. A beam of blue light struck his arm, encasing it and the medallion in ice. The sudden cold sensation, like a thousand tiny needles boring into his skin, caused him to gasp out in pain. He turned back to the shrine.

The carving of Articuno had opened its beak. And now, the Moltres sculpture was beginning to open its beak as well.

"Idiot!" he scolded himself.

A stream of fire shot toward him. In his rush to escape, his bag slipped from his shoulder and was swallowed by the flames. He didn't have time to worry about the loss, for a bolt of lightning immediately leapt from the Zapdos carving. It passed by just a few inches from his face, making his hair stand on end. He dashed to the left, hoping to escape, only to be cut off by another chilling blast. Then he was forced to evade another blast of fire and another bolt of lightning.

Shouting out defiantly, he launched a blast of psychic energy, only to watch it be deflected from its course, roaring down the tunnel to explode somewhere within the shrine.

"Oh, shit," he groaned, shooting downward to escape another river of fire racing toward him.

Streaks of blue, red and yellow streamed through the gorge, leaving charred stone and chunks of ice on the opposite wall. Jin'ei's mind raced desperately in search of a solution. The statues were defended against his attacks and it was only a matter of time before the continual dodging would leave him exhausted. Either he would overuse his mental powers and pass out, or a blast from one of the three guardian sculptures would find its mark. Whichever happened first, the end result would be the same, a long plummet to his death.

In an attempt to escape from a beam of cold and a blast of fire coming at him simultaneously, he smashed into the wall of the chasm. The impact caused the thin layer of ice that kept the medallion in his hand to snap.

"NO!" he shouted, throwing out his free hand to grab it.

An agonized scream escaped his throat as a bolt of lightning struck him, triggering every single pain receptor on his body at once. Blackness swirled around him, bringing with it a nauseating dizziness. His body twisted in anguish, his breath coming in short, erratic gasps.

_'No!'_ he thought as the clouds of darkness closed in over his vision. _'I was so close! So . . . close!'_

His rigid form falling limp, Jin'ei's mind succumbed to the silence of unconsciousness.

---

Still frozen in a block of ice, Cerebral, the medallion that Jin'ei had been searching so many years to find, plunged into the frigid waters below. Bobbing to the surface, it began its journey downstream, tossed erratically by the chaotic rapids of the raging river.


	2. The Invitation

2 The Invitation

"Mmm . . ."

Startled by the sudden stirring, the pidgy leapt away from the flaccid body that had been hanging next to its nest. It circled around its nest and watched, trying to decide what this new development meant.

With a painful groan, Jin'ei slowly opened his eyes. Someone was beating drums inside his head and his whole body ached horrendously. He tried to blink away the drowsiness. Bit by bit, the morning light brushed away the clouds over his eyes and his vision slowly came into focus. Water.

Water! The River! Falling!

He flailed in sudden panic and scraped his arm against the trunk of the tree. Crying out in pain, he jerked his arm away, throwing off his balance and causing him to slide down. At the last second, his hands wrapped around the branch and he held it with all his remaining strength. The sudden stop of his descent brought a new stinging pain to his spine. Groaning in anguish, he struggled to keep his weak grip.

He looked down to the river below him. The rushing water foamed white as it roared furiously over the rocks. Looking back up, he saw the three carvings that he had contended with, once again nothing more than lifeless stone.

Luckily for him, he'd only fallen for ten feet before the outstretched branch had caught him. Struggling for each breath, he dragged himself back to it, every agonizing inch a desperate battle. Finally up, he laid himself back against the trunk and sighed, wincing as his own breath set his chest aflame.

He gently felt his ribs with his hand, checking them for fractures. Somehow, none of them were broken, though three of them were badly bruised. There were no other serious injuries, just a few cuts and scratches. Dried blood was caked over a wound in his forehead and ran down his face, over his right eye. Seeing the smaller, broken branches above him explained that.

_'How long have I been here?'_ he wondered.

Pulling back his torn sleeve, he glanced at his watch. The crystal face was cracked and oil leaked out from it. With an indignant snort, he tossed the useless object away. His thoughts suddenly went back to his prize.

"Damn!" he growled.

If Cerebral had remained frozen and floated downstream, it could be miles away by now. He closed his eyes and attempted to feel out the medallion's power. He was right. He could faintly feel its energy coming from some point far down the river. As far away as it was, he must have been out for a day or more. He realized, with slight relief, that its signal wasn't decreasing any further, which meant it had probably thawed and sunk.

"That's good," he said, relaxing a bit. "It's not going anywhere. I can wait here for now and let my injuries heal a bit." Noticing the pidgy that circled over him agitatedly, he added with a note of loathing, "Perhaps not _right_ here."

Summoning up his mental powers, he rose up from the branch and seated himself down at the top of the cliff. He laid himself stretched out on the soft grass and closed his eyes. It wouldn't be too much longer now. Cerebral would soon be his.

---

The light of the morning sun burst into the room as Brock opened the blinds. Ash groggily sat up, squinting from the sudden brightness, and looked over at the motel window. Even with his hand cupped over his eyes, all he could see was the outline of his friend.

"Morning already, huh?" he yawned, turning away.

"It's seven o' clock," Brock said, adjusting the belt of his khaki jeans. "Misty's gone out to buy some breakfast. We'll be leaving after we eat, so get ready."

Rubbing his eyes, Ash climbed out of bed and stretched. After hastily throwing the blankets back into place, he grabbed his day clothes and went to the bathroom to get dressed, his pikachu following at his heels. Brock watched the boy disappear into the bathroom, slipping his green vest on over his orange T-shirt. With an apathetic sigh, he straightened the blankets out and then went back to the window to enjoy the warmth of the sunlight on his tan skin.

Dipping his hands beneath the running tap, Ash splashed the cold water onto his face. He donned his white-sleeved, blue jacket and, after drying off his hands, put on his green biker gloves. He looked at the comb sitting on the counter, then at his image in the mirror. Shrugging apathetically, he brushed back his black hair with his hand and put on his cap. With a satisfied smile, he looked to his pokemon for a second opinion.

"Pika," it said approvingly.

Just as Ash was coming out of the bathroom, the front door opened and Misty came in, carrying a sack on her shoulder and her togepi in her free arm. Still half asleep, the tiny pokemon clung to her sleeveless yellow shirt like a blanket. Her faded shorts hung loosely about her hips, held in place mostly by red suspenders

"I got some muffins," she said, putting the sack on the table next to her backpack. "They were out of butter, though."

Ash started a groan of disappointment, but Misty cut him off.

"No complaints!" she snapped. "If you wanted something else, then you should've been up with the rest of us and gone to get it yourself."

"Muffins are fine," he amended quickly.

Brushing aside her wild auburn locks, Misty opened the sack and took her breakfast to the writing desk at the other end of the room. There was a somewhat hostile silence as she opened the drawer and sifted through the periodicals inside until she found a camping magazine. She skimmed through the articles as she ate, now and then tearing off tiny pieces of the muffin to feed her togepi.

Though neither of the other two was exactly sure what it was, something had put Misty in a bad mood and none of them dared say anything for fear of further inflaming her volatile temper. They took their muffins and ate them quickly and quietly, nervously eyeing Misty sideways every now and then.

After breakfast, the three friends packed up their things and made one last check of the room to make sure everything was in order. Their inspection was interrupted by a sudden dull thud and the cracking of glass. Looking in the direction of the noise, they saw the long fractures in the window, stretching out from a single point of impact. Rushing out to see what had hit, they found a spearow standing beneath the window on wobbly feet, its eyes swirling dazedly.

"Wow!" Brock said, inspecting the broken window. "It hit really hard."

Putting her togepi down, Misty picked up the stunned bird and cradled it gently.

"There's a letter attached," she noted, removing the envelope tied to its neck. "It's for you, Ash."

"Really?" he said confusedly, taking it from her.

With a bewildered squawk, the spearow shook its head to clear its senses and then leapt from Misty's arms and flew off into the sky. She watched the bird fly away for a moment and then, with a shrug, reached down and picked up her togepi.

"So what does the letter say?" she asked.

Ash opened the envelope and pulled out the letter. Unfolding the paper, he read the first line.

"It's an invitation!" he said, his excitement evident in his voice. He read the letter aloud.

"To Mr. Ash Ketchum,

"You are cordially invited to Blackthorn City to participate in the Bridenbeker's Memorial Cup Tournament. This special exhibition pokemon tournament, sponsored by the Bridenbeker Humanitarian Foundation, is held once every five years to help raise money for humanitarian aid.

"We would like to congratulate you on qualifying for this tournament. It is only available to twenty people who meet the tournament's prerequisite conditions. It will be held on the weekend of November tenth through twelfth and you must arrive at least two days prior to the first round to register. Accommodations will be provided for you and up to three friends or family members.

"We hope that you will come and eagerly await your arrival.

"Signed, Vincent Parker, Tournament Committee Chairman."

The rest of the letter was the long list of companies that sponsored the tournament and other legal formalities, which he didn't bother to read. He looked over letter again with an elated smile. The Bridenbeker's Memorial Cup was one of the most prestigious tournaments in the pokemon league. Trainers from all over the country coveted the opportunity to participate in it and envied those few who actually did. And _he_ was invited to it! He was going to be the one that people envied. He couldn't have kept himself from smiling even if he tried.

"There's a post script message on the back," Brock noted, drawing the boy back from his daydreams.

Turning the letter over, Ash read on.

"Enclosed, you will find thirty-five dollars to cover the cost of the broken window. I apologize for the inconvenience."

He looked back into the envelope, confirming the amount. He put the bills into his pocket along with the letter. The three of them started off toward the main office to deliver the money.

"I can't believe you made it into the Bridenbeker's Memorial Cup," Misty said teasingly. "I always thought that they had strict requirements."

"They do," Brock remarked. "Only very skilled trainers get in."

Ash beamed with pride at the praise, but his smile was replaced by a grimace when Misty spoke up again.

"Careful, Brock," she warned. "We don't want to have to buy Ash a bigger hat again."

Changing the subject, Ash asked, "What's today's date?"

"It's October twenty-fourth," Brock answered. "We've got two weeks to get to Blackthorn, plenty of time."

Entering the main office, Ash explained the incident with the window to the woman at the front desk and gave her the money. She gave him an odd look, then shrugged as she put it away.

Switching on the desk Vid-phone, Ash dialed a number and waited. After several rings, the monitor switched on and Prof. Oak appeared on the screen, the image taking them by surprise. His normally well kept, graying hair was badly disheveled and his lab coat was slightly askew. His bewildered expression lightened when he saw his friend on the screen.

"Hello, Ash," he greeted. "It's nice to see you."

"Is something wrong?" Ash asked. "You look pretty messed up."

Prof. Oak heaved a downcast sigh. "We have interns staying with us this week," he explained. "They have no idea what they're doing. It's almost enough to make me loose faith in our educational institutions." Glancing off to the side, he suddenly exclaimed, "Don't play with that! It's very sensitive equipment!" With another heavy sigh, he turned back to Ash. "So, what can I do for you?"

"I just got an invitation to the Bridenbeker's Memorial Cup Tournament," Ash said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh! Congratulations!" Prof. Oak replied. "That's quite an accomplishment. I can't wait to see how you do."

"Are you going to be there, too?" Ash asked.

"Of course," Prof. Oak said. "As the world's foremost expert on pokemon, I get a special invite to every tournament. Every five years Mr. Parker graciously offers to buy me a new window. Nice bird, his spearow. Not too bright, but certainly a nice bird."

"Yeah," Ash said dryly. "We kind of figured that out."

"Hey, Prof. Oak," Misty interrupted, "what exactly are the prerequisites for the Bridenbeker's Memorial Cup?"

Prof. Oak took a moment to think. "Let's see," he started. "You have to be officially registered as a trainer and have all of the Johto Region gym badges . . ."

"Not the basic requirements," Misty clarified. "I mean the more specific ones."

"Oh," Prof. Oak said with a slight chuckle. "The decision is mostly based on the way that the trainer conducts himself. They select people who they feel best represent the kinds of ideals that Markus Bridenbeker stood for. Being in this tournament says as much for character as it does for skill. Of course, you do have to have participated in a few official tournaments and done well enough to catch the tournament committee's attention."

"See, Misty?" Ash remarked. "It _does_ take skill."

"Don't let it go to your head," Misty said sharply. "You at least want to be able to stand upright when you're up in front of the audience."

Ash sighed, his head drooping sullenly. Why she always had to use him to sharpen her tongue was beyond his understanding.

"I'll be sure to tell your mother the good news," Prof. Oak said, a hint of anxiety in his voice. "I'm afraid that I have to go, before these blasted interns tear my laboratory apart. DIDN'T I TELL YOU NOT TO TOUCH THAT?!"

There was suddenly a bright flash with the beginnings of an explosion and the screen went to static. After a few moments, the image of a woman appeared and, in a cheerful voice, explained that the line had been disconnected. After the message repeated a few times, Ash switched the monitor off. Misty and Brock shot each other nervous glances.

"Do you think he's okay?" Brock asked.

Ash took a step back. "I hope so," he stuttered.

"I'd worry about the intern," Misty commented. "Prof. Oak's going to kill him."

Ash chuckled weakly. "Right," he said without conviction. "Let's get going."

---

As the hours passed, the chill of the autumn frost from the previous night began to warm. The slowly dwindling dew that remained of it sparkled in the sun's soft glow, accentuating the gold and red hues of the changing trees. Fallen leaves were scattered about on the ground and every now and then a slight breeze would send a few more down to join them. The atmosphere was lightly moist and cool, but not cold and there were only a few clouds in the sky. The crisp air was refreshing to the three companions as they followed the path to Blackthorn City. They kept a slow stride, admiring the splendors of the forest. Only the sound of a nearby river disturbed the serenity of their travel.

With such a peaceful day, it was only Ash who kept their pace consistent. The young trainer was adamant about getting to their destination as quickly as possible, almost as though he believed his arrival would hasten the tournament to begin. His impatience was useless, however, and his rush was frustrated by the calmness, as even his pikachu couldn't bring itself to hurry with such splendorous scenery to admire. He continued to complain, but it did not take long for the others to begin to ignore him.

As the sun was passing its peak in the sky, the group came to a growth of apple trees. The fruits that hung from the branches shined bright red, a sight too appealing to pass by. With a smile, Brock stopped beneath one, looking up at the fruit hungrily.

"This looks like a good place to stop for a break," he said.

He reached up into the lower branches and plucked one of the apples. Sitting down, he bit into it.

"Do we have to stop now?" Ash asked.

"Aren't you hungry?" Misty asked back, taking a seat next to Brock. "It's been hours since breakfast."

A sudden gurgle affirmed the point. Chuckling, Ash replied, "I guess we can stop for a little while."

"There's no hurry," Brock stated. "It's a four day walk to Blackthorn and we have a couple of weeks to get there. They might not let us take our reservations until a few days before the tournament, so we don't want to show up too soon. We might as well enjoy ourselves."

Conceding to the point, Ash sat down with the rest of them. They unpacked their sandwiches and plucked a few apples for lunch. The next hour was spent eating and relaxing. Pikachu and Togepi played together, while Misty and Brock carried on in their own conversation. Ash lay back against the tree, thinking about his upcoming tournament, wondering who and what he might go up against. He'd faced a lot of trainers and competed in a lot of tournaments, but none of them would ever hold a candle to this one. He just knew that this was going to be the highlight of his life.

They boy couldn't contain his excitement and continually insisted that they press on. Each time, he met with a firm refusal and he eventually gave up on it. Pulling his cap down over his eyes, he made himself comfortable and let himself drift from his daydreams into sleep. Brock woke him an hour later, shoving a water purifier and some bottles into his hands.

"Go fill up the water bottles," he said. "We're going to pick a few more apples for the road."

"Sure," Ash replied, his sleep instantly washed away by anxiousness. "Come on, Pikachu."

Ash and Pikachu left the trail and followed the sound of the river until they found it. Sitting down on the bank, he dipped the filter into the water and pumped it a few times to build up the pressure. While Ash refilled the bottles, Pikachu sat on the riverbank and watched the fishes' playfully swimming.

A sudden faint glimmer of reflected sunlight caught the pokemon's eye. Strolling a bit further down the bank, it found a small metal object partially buried in the mud. Pikachu wrapped its paws around it and pulled it out, then dipped it under the water to clean it off. With the mud washed away, Pikachu saw that it was a small bronze disk with a string attached. With the exception of the strange hole in the center, it looked like the medals the pokemon had seen given out at tournaments. It sniffed the curious item, its ears twitching once in confusion, then carried the medal back to Ash.

"Pika-pi," it said, holding the medal out to him.

"What's this?" Ash asked, taking it.

"Pika," Pikachu replied, shrugging its little shoulders.

Ash held out the object so that it caught the sunlight and inspected it. It felt strange to his touch, pulsing as though it had its own heartbeat. For a moment, he thought he heard a metallic ringing coming from the medallion and then a sudden sensation of warmth passed over him, leaving his whole body tingling for a moment. He shuddered slightly as the feeling faded away.

"Pika-pi?" Pikachu inquired in a worried tone.

"What was that?" Ash thought aloud. He shook his head to clear away the ringing in his ears. Seeing the concerned expression on his companion's face, he smiled. "I'm okay. I just caught a chill, or something."

"Hey, Ash!" Misty called. "What's taking so long?"

"I'm coming," he called back.

Dropping the medallion into his pocket, Ash scooped up the purifier and water bottles and rushed off to join his friends.

---

Jin'ei shot up to sitting position, instantly awake. He jerked his head to the side and starred downstream with a mixture of anger and confusion. It couldn't be! He stretched out his mind in search of his prize. His eyes bulged wide when he felt the energy. It was different now.

"No!" he hissed. "This can't be happening."

Ignoring the pain in his chest, he jumped to his feet. Leaping from the side of the cliff, he flew off down river with all the speed his mental strength could muster. There was no more time to waste now.

"Do what you will," he growled. "But I'll still win. You will be mine, Cerebral."

---

The thin sliver of the moon rested high in the heavens, but it provided little light for the three friends. In the eerie darkness of the forest, they huddled around their makeshift fire pit, eating the broth that Brock had cooked up. Closer to the fire, Pikachu and Togepi were cuddled together and slept soundly.

"It's cold," Misty remarked, shivering.

Setting his bowl on the ground, Brock reached into his hiking pack and took out a blanket. Handing it to her, he said, "I expected it to be, so I got us some extra blankets."

Misty wrapped herself up in the blanket and moved a few inches closer to the fire. She looked up at the sky and gazed at the stars in silent contemplation. Ash scooted up next to her.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"Nothing really," she replied. "Just admiring the stars. It really is a beautiful night, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Ash said.

His gaze turned upward and a smile crossed his face. So many stars; thousands of tiny points of light in an endless sea of blackness. As he viewed the heavens, marveling at the vast expanse of the universe he let his thoughts stray from himself, traversing the incomprehensible distances between each of them. Innumerable swirling balls of fire and gas, many of them hundreds of times the size of his own sun, and each likely to have its own collection of planets. As the minutes passed, the universe seemed bigger and bigger, while he himself became smaller and smaller. He was so tiny, so insignificant. Suddenly, he found that he felt very helpless and he shuddered at the thought.

"What?" Misty asked him.

"It's so huge," Ash answered. "All those stars out there, going on endlessly. Here we are on a little ball of rock hurtling through space with nothing out there but more space. This little world is all that we have. There's nowhere else to go, no one else to turn to. It seems kind of lonely."

A slight grin tugged at Misty's cheeks. This was a side of Ash she had never seen before. She inched closer, leaning her head against his shoulder. Ash looked down at her, his expression somewhat distant. She smiled back at him, fixing her gaze on his eyes, immersing herself in their deep, ocean blue.

"It's not as lonely as you might think," she whispered.

Ash continued to stare at her, his face blank. What was she doing? Why was she acting so strangely? He felt a little uncomfortable, his face flushing a bit. He never realized how much her eyes sparkled with life, or how soft her hair really was. Her skin was so smooth and so warm.

Again, Misty drew closer, opening up the blanket to wrap it around him.

"Hey, Ash," Brock cut in suddenly, absently pulling flashlight from his pack. "We need to set up the tent."

Rising to his feet, Ash snatched up his backpack and rushed off to help Brock, leaving Misty alone, still extending the blanket out to wrap him. She stared at the two for a second, her eye twitching in disbelief. With an indignant pout, she wrapped herself up again.

"Smooth, Brock," she grumbled to herself. "Perfect timing."

Ash took the tent off from his bag and handed it to Brock, slipping it on afterward. While Ash held the flashlight, Brock assembled the poles and started to run them through the tent. Shivering from the cold, Ash struggled to keep the light steady as he guided them through. Suddenly, Pikachu lifted its head and sniffed the air.

"Pika," it called out in warning.

"What's wrong?" Misty asked. "Do you smell something?"

Shaking its head nervously, Pikachu rose to its feet and stepped forward, an intense glare on its face. It couldn't smell anything, but it knew something was there, something evil. An unmistakable cold feeling had come over it, like icy daggers of fright. It sniffed several more times, then shouted another warning. In that moment, the fire began to dim and then extinguished altogether.

"Who's out there?" Ash demanded, shinning his light out into the trees.

"So young," A soft and icy voice replied. "A pity that you must die."

Before them, an outline of lavender flames appeared, illuminating a figure dressed in tattered clothing. His expression revealed no emotion as he stretched out his hand. The purple flames intensified around his palm and then formed into a ball.

Brock opened his mouth to speak, but the words were stopped in his throat when the ball struck him in the face, throwing him back. Ash rushed to his friend and helped him to get up.

"What are you doing?" Misty yelled, throwing the blanket aside and rising to her feet.

The assailant looked at her coldly, then held out his hand with his palm pointed upward. When his hand rose up, the tent stakes shot up into the air and then rained down toward her as he turned his palm over. Misty dived aside and rolled away as staves sank into the ground.

Angered by the unprovoked assault on its friends, Pikachu released a jolt of electricity at the attacker. He held out his hand and caught the bolt, allowing it to gather in his hand and then dissipate. He gave a short grunt of exertion and Pikachu was violently hurled backward. Leaping up, Ash caught his pokemon in the air.

"Run!" he shouted.

He ducked his head quickly and the attack that was meant for him struck a tree behind him. The trunk shuddered under the force of the bolt, its bark exploding off from it, and crashed to the ground on top of the tent.

"I'm with Ash," Misty yelled as she scooped up Togepi.

The three of them dashed off into the forest. In the darkness, it seemed as though every branch and bramble reached out at them with grasping hands to hinder their escape. They scrambled through the brush, pursued by their assailant's glowing projectiles. One hit Misty in the back, barely missing her spine, and she stumbled a bit. In her panicked state, she hardly felt the pain of the bruise that was forming from the impact and quickly regained her feet.

Maddening fear filled Ash's mind. His lungs and legs burned from the strain. A bolt struck a tree branch above him and it scraped his arm as it fell. In desperation, he cried out for help. Only his own echo answered him and his next plea was cut short. The attacker was standing before him, a ball of purple light clutched in his hand.

"Scream all you like," he hissed menacingly. "No one will hear you!"

With that, he released his missile. By a stroke of luck, the aim was off and it only clipped Ash's ear as it sailed past. He turned abruptly and fled, Misty and Brock close behind him. Twigs and leaves fell like rain as the volley of deadly orbs exploded all around them.

"Someone help!" Ash called again. "Anyone!"

As he was shouting, his foot caught itself on a large, fallen branch and he tumbled forward. He felt something graze the back of his head and blindness swallowed him.


	3. A Strange Old Man

3 A Strange Old Man

"Ash!" Misty cried.

She and Brock rushed back to where their friend had fallen. Jin'ei stood over them, glaring down on them coldly. His soft and slow chuckle seemed to echo as he extended his arm.

Brock looked up at him, feeling the energy his enemy was gathering. Hearing the mocking laughter, his rage boiled over. A sudden surge of adrenaline drove away his terror and forced him to action.

Jin'ei stumbled backward as Brock's fist smashed into his face. Growling, Jin'ei pressed his hand against Brock's chest and unleashed a blast of force that knocked him from his feet. With a twisted grin, he rubbed his jaw and chuckled again, impressed by the boy's strength. Even though he had lessened the impact of the blow by moving back with it, it had been quite painful. He almost felt it was a shame he would have to kill them. Almost.

Misty began to sob as she huddled over Ash's prone body and Togepi squealed fearfully. Jin'ei glanced down at her cruelly. He formed another ball of energy in his hand.

"Relax," He whispered in mock comfort. "I assure you that your death will be painless. A few seconds and it will all be over."

"Why are you doing this?" she demanded.

Jin'ei took aim for Misty's head. Closing her eyes, she held Ash close to her and waited for the blow to come. It never did. Instead, a shrill whistle suddenly pierced the air, followed by two more, each a lower note than before. Jin'ei hesitated, looking away from his victim. A muttering voice came to their ears, loudly humming an unfamiliar tune and vocalizing every few notes.

Out of the darkness, an aged form appeared, walking slowly toward them with his hands held behind his back. His starscape robes were a dark purple color and he wore leather moccasins of the same color. He had a stout, wrinkled face that gave him a jovial appearance, topped with short, gray hair. His cleft chin was dotted randomly by partially shaved stubble.

"Oh, they say la da dum," he sang to himself, speaking with a mild British accent. "Oh, how does it go? La da dum da. Hmm?"

At that moment he noticed the others. His navy blue eyes opened wide and he drew a long breath. He exhaled with a thoughtful hum and then continued to approach them.

"My, my," he mumbled. "What have we here? Seems like trouble to me. What could be going on so late at night? Nothing good, I suppose."

Ignoring Jin'ei altogether, he stood over the others and eyed them with concern, making an odd clicking noise with his tongue. Misty looked up at him with a confused expression. He met her gaze with a gentle, protective smile. He reached down and softly patted her on the cheek in a reassuring manner. Turning from her, he saw Pikachu and a sudden twinkle came to his eyes. He knelt down beside it and began to stroke its head.

"Now, if you aren't the cutest little fellow," the stranger cooed.

Jin'ei's eye twitched in agitation. Who was this strange man? He looked familiar to him, but he couldn't place a name to the face.

"Excuse me," he shouted exasperatedly.

The stranger turned to Jin'ei, looking at him as if he had just now noticed him for the first time. He clicked three more times and then spoke.

"If you please, young man," he calmly implored, "leave these children alone and remove yourself from my property."

Jin'ei growled, flames burning in his eyes. He held out his projectile waving it menacingly.

"Do not interfere, old man," he warned icily.

The stranger drew another deep breath, considering the words. He nodded his head and then turned back to Pikachu.

"Do forgive me," he apologized.

Pikachu squealed in protest as the old man yanked a few strands of hair from the pokemon's head. Closing his hand over them, he rose to his feet and faced Jin'ei. He held out a finger on his other hand and shook it admonishingly.

"I did ask politely," he said.

Jin'ei stared at the stranger in bewilderment, wondering if the old man was crazy. His eyes widened in horror when he saw electricity begin to crackle around the old man's clenched fist and he suddenly realized why he had seemed familiar. He ducked to the side as a bolt of lightning shot past, burning a large hole through his cape. He stared at his ruined clothing for a moment, his lower lip quivering, then turned back to the sorcerer with venomous rage in his expression.

"Hmm!" the stranger said sharply, looking Jin'ei in the eyes.

Suddenly, Jin'ei realized his glasses had slipped down. Cursing himself, he pushed them back up the bridge of his nose. The old man nodded to himself.

"I'll ask again," he said pleasantly. "Please leave my home."

"You will regret this!" Jin'ei promised.

"That seems hardly likely," chuckled the old man. "Now, do I have to ask you to leave again?"

Jin'ei fumed inwardly. The sorcerer's voice lacked any hint of malice. It was as casual as if he were talking to a friend and that confidence made Jin'ei all the angrier. He wanted to lash out at the old man and wipe the self-assured smile from his face. He wanted to strike him down and tear him limb from limb. The singed hairs on his arm told him that trying would be a bad idea. The air made a popping sound as it rushed in to fill the empty space Jin'ei left behind.

With a deep sigh, the stranger bent down beside Ash's body and removed the cap. He ran his wrinkled fingers through Ash's hair around the back of his head, clicking his tongue again. He looked up at the others and smiled.

"You're lucky that your friend tripped," he remarked. "If that bolt had hit him square as it was intended, it surely would've shattered his skull."

Misty and Brock were struck speechless by the eccentricity of the old man. Neither felt entirely sure that what they had just seen was real. It was just too strange to believe. And his behavior. He acted as though nothing great had even happened, brushing aside the assault with the hum of a lively tune. What kind of person had just saved them?

"Um, thank you for saving us," Misty said at last.

"Think nothing of it," he replied. "Always glad to help. Now, we'd best get inside. I imagine you're both a bit shaken up."

Gently cradling his head, the old man picked up Ash's body and started back in the direction he'd come. The others hesitated, too dazed by the recent events to think clearly. The old man stopped and looked back at them over his shoulder.

"Well, come along," he prompted. "It gets bloody chilly outside at night. You don't want to catch a cold, do you?"

"What about our things?" Misty asked, still in a bit of a stupor. "We left them behind."

"Oh, they'll be there in the morning," he said. "That young man was emitting such a frightful aura that it will probably be a few days before any wild pokemon would dare venture near that spot again."

He chuckled to himself as he started forward again. The others rushed to catch up.

"Excuse me," Brock inquired. "Who are you?"

"They call me Lotus," he replied. "And they should, it _is_ my name after all."

The two stopped for a moment, staring at each other, dumbfounded. The name really wasn't helpful. They still had no idea who they were dealing with, or why he had saved them, or even what he wanted with them. Shrugging, Misty turned to follow the old man and Brock joined her quickly.

Lotus led them to a small clearing nearby, where a modest-sized cottage awaited them. Smoke rose lazily from the stone chimney and a light could be seen from the window. When the group came closer, the light moved away from the window and the front door opened.

In the doorway stood a tall girl of about age sixteen, wearing a black nightgown and holding a lantern. Her red curls dangled messily over her shoulders and a large murkrow sat perched on her shoulder.

"Lilly?" Misty called out, recognizing her friend.

Lilly rushed out to meet them. "I thought I knew that voice I heard," she remarked. She noticed Ash lying limp in Lotus's arms and a troubled look came to her face. "Oh, no! Grandfather, is he . . .?"

"No," Lotus replied, shaking his head. "He just took a little knock to the head is all. He'll be fine in the morning, though I don't envy him the headache he will have for it. I'll put him in a comfortable bed and let him sleep." His voice suddenly became stern. "Which is exactly what you ought to be doing right now, young lady."

Lilly chuckled nervously. "Well," she explained, "I recognized Ash's voice calling out for help and I was worried."

Lotus's expression seemed to become distant as he probed his memory. He looked down at the boy in his arms for a long moment. He half shook his head and made a puzzled humming sound.

"Nyugh," he grumbled perplexedly. "I would hope you'd find him too young to be a boyfriend, but his name sounds terribly familiar. Do I know him?"

"You haven't met him personally," Lilly explained. "But I've told you about him before. You remember the time I borrowed your book?"

The aged sorcerer thought for a moment then suddenly began to laugh heartily. "Of course," he said. "The mistranslation. So, _this_ is the boy, is it? What a strange coincidence."

"Mistranslation?" Misty asked.

An embarrassed flush of red colored Lilly's cheeks. "In the old language," she explained, "the only difference between the words "mind" and "body" is which syllable you stress the most. What I though said, 'get into the mind of a pokemon,' was actually 'get into the _body_ of a pokemon.' I was still learning the grammar structure of the language back then, so I got confused."

"If she had read the complete description," Lotus added, "she would have realized she was casting the wrong spell. Furthermore, if she had remembered her lessons on the ancient tongue, she would have realized that the description for the spell she was thinking of should have read, 'know the voice of.' And . . ."

"They get the point," Lilly interrupted in a whining voice.

Misty and Brock laughed. They both remembered the incident from when they had first met Lilly. She had told them about a spell that would let a person read a pokemon's mind and asked for their help in gathering the ingredients. Once they had found everything, Ash volunteered to be the test subject, but it hadn't worked out as they expected, with the he result being that Ash had been temporarily transformed into a pikachu. That had been almost a year ago, not far from where they were right now.

"Well," Lotus said as the laughter died down, "off to bed with you. They'll be time to talk to your friends in the morning." Turning to the others, he added, "I'll show you to the guest room."

Lilly said goodnight as she disappeared into the house and into her room. Having seen an old friend, the others felt their fears and doubts lifted from them and gratefully followed their host into the house and Brock closed the door behind them.

---

There was a soundless burst of light as Jin'ei appeared in the entryway of his home, a lavish estate of incredible size. He let out a long, heavy sigh as he tried to sublimate his rage. Again, it had been within his grasp and he had lost it. So close, yet so far. He took another deep breath, looking at himself in the gold-framed mirror that hung next to him. Seeing how ragged he appeared made him feel all the wearier. His hair was tangled and coarse and his unshaven face was in a vile mess. He turned away from it with a groan of disgust.

"Rogers!" he called.

Edmond Rogers, a tall, middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair, came rushing from the main room to greet his employer. He stopped short with a gasp when he saw Jin'ei, dropping the rag and wood polish he carried.

"Master Artemis," he gasped, quickly scooping up the cleaning tools. "What happened?"

Jin'ei waved a dismissive hand. "I had a bit of an accident, nothing too severe. The ancient sorcerers took special care to make sure no one would take the medallion."

Rogers clasped his hands together excitedly. "You found it then?" he asked, his voice quivering with anticipation.

Jin'ei nodded, but a scowl came to his face. "I found it," he hissed. "But I lost it. It has fallen into the hands of a boy, who is now under the protection of a sorcerer."

Rogers grunted, sharing the frustration of his employer. He stepped forward, placing the rag and polish on the end table. While Jin'ei continued to gain control his anger, taking deep, frustrated breaths, the butler removed his master's torn and burnt cape and rolled it up.

"You must be terribly upset," he remarked sympathetically as he crouched down began to untie Jin'ie's shoes.

Jin'ei nodded, starting toward the staircase leading up to the second floor, Rogers pulling off each shoe with the first two steps and then slipping them under the coat rack. He placed his hands on the golden handrail and hesitated, considering the situation for a moment, then turned back to his servant.

"At least for the moment," he concluded, "I know where it is. It shouldn't be too hard to find a way to take it. I will take a shower now. Throw these rags away."

He removed his shirt and held it out with two fingers as though it were a piece of filth. Rogers took the shirt and folded it with the cape under his arm. As Jin'ei started back up the stairs, Rogers stopped him.

"Master Artemis," he said, "the dress you designed is finished. It arrived earlier this afternoon."

"I'll look at it later," Jin'ei replied. He started back up the stairs, but the mention of the dress brought another thought to his mind. "Where's Catherine?"

"Mistress Catherine has gone out," Rogers told him. "She should be back shortly."

Jin'ei laughed slightly as he thought about his wife. She was out, was she? Shopping no doubt. Catherine was a beautiful woman of a very dignified background, but, given everything she had ever wanted as a child, she had never developed sense of budget. His parents had rightly believed that she had only married him for his money and strongly opposed the marriage. His bank account number was the only thing she really saw in him. Of course, that was just fine with him; his own reasons for the marriage hadn't exactly been based on feelings of mutual respect either. She had only one use to him and as long as she served that purpose, she could do with his money as she pleased.

Still chuckling to himself, he continued up the stairs to the bathroom.

"Shall I prepare a meal for you?" Rogers asked.

"That sounds good," he replied. "Thank you."

He closed the door behind him and removed his clothes. Climbing into the shower, he adjusted the showerhead and turned on the water. He turned the dial up so that the water was as hot as he was able to withstand and let it massage his aching muscles. He sighed contentedly, relaxing his body so he could think more clearly.

He tried to place a name to the old man's face, but had no luck. He was certain that he had seen that one before. If his guess was correct, then he was a council member of the Sorcerer's Conclave. That made things a little more complicated than he had planned on.

To make things worse, the sorcerer had seen his eyes and recognized him for what he was. If the old fool even suspected his identity, he could be in serious danger. The only choice was to kill him, but that left a question of how. He didn't have the confidence to directly attack someone with such powerful magic, as a council member would undoubtedly have. There had to be another way.

He turned the water off and stepped slowly out of the stall, taking his towel from the rack. As he dried himself off, he continued to ponder his situation. He was on a fragile foothold. If he were to make a mistake now, everything would be ruined. He would have to move with extreme caution.

He took a brush from behind the mirror and carefully combed his hair. He combed out every knot and trimmed off the split ends, painstakingly working it over until his hair was as smooth as the silk of his cape. Replacing the brush, he took his electric razor and spent several minutes shaving off his facial hair. Once finished, he dressed himself in the new set of white clothes that Rogers had put beside the sink.

He inspected himself in the mirror and then frowned. Removing a pair of tweezers, he plucked a few stray hairs from his eyebrows and smoothed them over with his fingers. At last satisfied with his appearance, he left the bathroom.

He absently descended the stairs and turned towards the dinning room, hardly noticing his progress. His footsteps were light on the marble floor, but his visage was heavy with apprehension. He came to the dinning hall and sat down at the far end of the table. With a troubled sigh, he leaned back in his chair and stared at the crystal chandelier in such deep thought that it surprised him when he heard Rogers' voice.

"Will you take caviar with your meal?" the servant asked.

Jin'ei shook his head, but didn't look at him. Rogers placed a crystal glass on the table and opened a wine bottle, filling the glass with the red liquid. He silently set out the sterling silver utensils and a silk napkin. Jin'ei took no notice of the butler when he left the room.

He drew a long breath and let it role out into a soft growl. It wasn't fair. All his life, people had tried to deny him what was rightfully his. He should have been the one to sit at the Conclave. He deserved that position. He had earned it through his years of hard and diligent study. It had all been because of Amelia, his former guild leader. She had always been jealous of his skill and his quick progress. As his power grew, so had the enmity between them. She had known all along that he would have surpassed her and probably taken her place as a council member, so she had persuaded the Conclave to cast him out of the order.

"Just wait," he whispered venomously to himself. "I'll get you for what you did. It should have been mine, damn you. And it _will_ be mine."

"Did you say something, Master Artemis?" Rogers asked.

Jin'ei was suddenly pulled from his thoughts, noticing that his butler had just entered. "No," he replied.

Rogers placed a china dish of prawns before his employer and took a step back, eagerly awaiting his reply. Jin'ei speared one of the prawns with his fork and put it into his mouth, chewing it slowly. The smile that appeared on his master's face after he swallowed was enough to delight him.

Jin'ei glanced at his servant gratefully. He trusted Rogers more than anyone else and considered him to be his only real friend. Rogers was always eager to please him and had helped him so many times. Even if the whole world conspired against him, at least he knew he would have one loyal friend.

"It's delicious," Jin'ei said. "As always. Thank you, Rogers."

Rogers' eyes gleamed with pride. "It is my pleasure, Master Artemis," he said, bowing low.

They heard the front door open and Rogers rushed off to greet Catherine. Jin'ei lifted his glass to his lips while he listened to the casual conversation; Rogers offering to take the bags, his wife telling him where to put them and other trivial things. He set the glass back down and turned toward his wife as she passed by the door.

She was wearing casual black attire, with a long coat and leather gloves. Her waves of long golden hair flowed down from her head, rolling smoothly over her right shoulder. She smiled at him and greeted him in her usual, seductive manner, strolling casually into the dining room, the light shimmering on her hair with each step.

"You've been gone for two days," she said. "I was beginning to worry about you."

Jin'ei snorted in amusement. "I'm sure," he replied, turning back to his meal.

Catherine recognized the tone in his voice and easily guessed the results of his expedition. This time, she told herself, the game would be a little harder to play than usual. She disappeared down the hallway, only to return a short time later wearing the new dress, gazing at him temptingly with her deep blue eyes. Jin'ei removed his glasses and looked her over closely, slowly stroking his ear.

The dress was a rose red color, fully accentuating her luscious lips. Held in place by a pair of thin straps, its v-shaped neckline dangled just above her breasts, accompanied by shoulder length white gloves and her special black high-heals completed the package. Her hair was worn up in a bun and a large diamond necklace dangled in her visible cleavage, daring his eyes to follow its course. She glided slowly toward him, enticing him with her alluring gaze and enchanting smile.

Jin'ei set his glasses back in place and sipped at his wine, paying little attention to her as she stepped around him. Naturally, the dress was nice, he designed it, after all, but something seemed off, didn't properly compliment the shape of a woman's body. Despite his confidence in his designs, he was quite sure that the shape of _her_ body was not the problem.

Catherine sighed with longing, longing that Jin'ei recognized as an act and was quick to ignore. He drew a lurid breath when she wrapped her silky-skinned arms around him and tensed up as he felt her breasts press against the back of his shoulders. She suckled on his ear, causing his lips to part in a quivering grin of pleasure. She let her head droop lower, kissing his neck and he leaned his head a bit to the side, his breath quickening. She felt so good, but she was also very distracting. He quickly forced back his desires, sliding the chair back and forcing her off of him.

"Not now," he told her. "I have other things to think about at the moment."

Rogers entered with another glass of wine and gave it to Catherine. She took the glass and drank it slowly, never taking her lascivious gaze off of Jin'ei. He stood with his back facing her for a moment, his posture still tense. He seemed hesitant to leave, as though he were reconsidering his decision, but would not make a move to betray his thoughts. After a pause, Jin'ei made a sound of clearing his throat and then loosened his shoulders and straitened up.

"I'm going to bed now," he said.

Catherine watched with a smug grin as her husband slithered out of the dinning room. He was going to bed. She almost chuckled. She well understood the mind games he played; he was so easy for her to read. She waited a few moments before giving Rogers a slight nod and a wink. Rogers bowed, knowing exactly what she meant even without hearing it. With a disapproving frown, he left the room.

---

Jin'ei tossed his clothes into the hamper beside his bed before climbing into it. Pulling up the sheets, he laid back his head to think. Cerebral would not an easy prize to take. The children and their filthy animals were nothing, but the sorcerer; he presented a problem that could not be circumvented. He needed a plan of action. The old fool's home would be warded by tomorrow morning, weakening his ability to effectively use his powers, possibly rendering them entirely useless. It may come down to physical combat for him.

He glanced to the side, noting the heirloom displayed on the wall; a rapier, hanging from an oak plaque. It was old, but if cleaned up and sharpened, it could be used. Yes, he thought, he could handle a fight with an old man, provided he could gain the element of surprise and get close enough to cut off his ability to effectively use his more powerful spells, but how was he going to do that?

A beam of light fell across his face and he lifted his head. Catherine stood leaning against the doorway, smiling at him. He sat up and looked at her, leaning against the headrest of his bed. She plucked out her hairpins, letting her hair flow outward and float down about her shoulders. She slid across the doorframe, keeping her back pressed lightly against it, gliding into the room.

"That dress would've looked better as a strapless," Jin'ei commented, finally seeing the error.

Catherine pulled away from the door and gripped at the straps of the gown, letting them slip off her shoulders. The dress slid tantalizingly low as she approached. Too much, Jin'ei's resistance at last broke. A carnal laugh escaped from his throat and he pulled back the sheets and allowed her to climb into the bed.

Jin'ei smiled contentedly as he ran his fingers through Catherine's golden locks and listened to her soft, rhythmic breathing, reveling in the warmth of her body against his bare chest. She did indeed have her usefulness. He leaned his head back and looked up at the ceiling and his grimace returned.

Catherine had managed to take his mind off his dilemma for a short time, but it hadn't given him a solution. What was he to do about the sorcerer? The fool would almost certainly be expecting a surprise attack. How could he get close enough to kill him?

A sudden memory from the deepest recesses of his mind surfaced and cruel smirk twisted up his expression.

"Perhaps I don't have to kill him" he thought aloud. "Not if I can have _him_ do it for me."

With that, he closed his eyes drifted into a deep slumber filled with dreams of power.

---

Ash's eyes popped open. He stared at the blank ceiling for a moment in confusion. His thoughts scrambled through his mind in disarray, making little sense to him and the person beating on his head with hammers wasn't helping much. Rubbing his head, he sat up slowly and looked around.

He was lying in a comfortable bed in a small room with another bed beside his own. His jacket, neatly folded, as well as his shoes rested on the floor beside his bed. The scent of food permeated into the room through the open door. It was a calming setting to wake up to, but where in the world was he?

He suddenly heard laughter coming from outside the room; Misty's laughter. Groaning from the pain in his head, he got out of the bed and dressed himself with a clean pair of clothes from his backpack. He stepped out of the room and followed the sound of the laughter down the hallway, noting along the way the curious symbols drawn on the walls. As he got closer, he heard an old man's voice speaking.

"Yes," he merrily remarked, "I can see how that could cause trouble. Of course, I only ever wear black socks, so the only thing I have to worry about is which ones are clean and which ones aren't."

There was more laughter; Misty, Brock and another girl who he was sure he knew, but couldn't quite remember from where. He entered into the room and saw four people. Misty and Brock were sitting at a table with the old man he had heard and the other girl stood over a wood-burning stove, cooking eggs. The girl was wearing a dark purple shirt and skirt with lighter purple gloves and a black cape and shoes. A tall, pointed hat with a wide brim rested over her curly red hair. He recognized her, but his migraine kept chasing away her name.

Pikachu, sitting in the middle of the table, noticed him as he walked in.

"Pika-pi!" it exclaimed joyfully.

The lightning mouse ran to Ash, leaping from the table toward him. With Ash's mind as groggy as it was, Pikachu almost found itself falling to the floor and was only just barely caught in its trainer's arms.

The old man looked up at him and smiled. "So, you're awake, are you?" he said. "How are you feeling, Ash?"

Ash stared at him perplexedly. "How do you know my name?" he asked.

"We've been talking about you," Lilly replied, turning toward him. "You know, you make for the most interesting subject of conversation."

Sitting on a perch on the counter next to the stove, Murkrow spread its wings and cawed in agreement.

Seeing the young boy's bewildered look and stiff movements, Lotus rose from his seat and casually strolled over to the counter. He removed three eggs from the carton and turned back to the group. One by one, the eggs went up into the air and came back down as the old man juggled them, humming a fast tempoed melody. Ash watched with a blank expression, still unable to clear his head.

"Stop that," Lilly ordered, snatching the eggs away. "You'll drop them. I will _not_ clean up a mess of broken eggs twice in one day."

Lotus snorted indignantly, taking one of the eggs back, and beckoned for Ash to come closer. The boy hesitated, questions stumbling drunkenly through his mind. Who was this old man? What was the egg for? Why did his head hurt so much? Lotus beckoned again, giving him a stern stare. Ash stepped up to him and the old man put a hand on his forehead. Ash heard him whisper some strange words under his breath and then felt a tingling sensation in his head.

"How do you feel now?" Lotus asked.

"My headache stopped," he said with amazement.

Smiling pleasantly, Lotus put the egg back in the carton and took his seat. Ash sat down next to them, Pikachu hopping from his arms back onto the table.

"What happened?" he asked. "I remember this white-haired guy appearing and then . . ." his voice trailed off.

"Yes," Lotus said. "You're lucky to be here, my boy. You were almost killed."

Ash thought back for a moment. He remembered the stranger attacking with glowing balls of energy, running, a lot of leaves and branches falling around him, but it was still fuzzy, even with his migraine ended.

"Who was that guy?" he asked.

Lotus opened his mouth to reply, but it was Brock who answered.

"It was Artemis Jin'ei," he said.

"You know of him?" Lotus asked.

Brock nodded. "He's the president of the Lunar Fashion clothing industry," he explained. "Since he took over his father's position a few years ago, the company has become famous for producing the most fashionable clothes available. His designs are sold in almost every country in the world."

Brock stopped when he saw the way his friends were staring at him. He was sure that he had explained it simple enough for even Ash to understand, but they were giving him very confused expressions. Even the pokemon were looking at him strangely.

"Why do you know that?" Misty asked.

Brock blushed a bit. "I spend a lot of time with girls," he replied. "It's what they talk about."

"I've never heard of it before," Misty said.

"You're not really a normal girl, Misty," Ash remarked.

Misty's cheeks flushed red with anger and she whirled on him furiously. "What is that supposed mean?" she snapped.

Ash cringed in his chair, expecting her to slap him across the face at any moment. Then tension broke when Lotus interceded.

"Now, now, my dear," he stated calmly. "There's no reason to be angry. No insult was intended. Besides, what would a young girl as interesting as you want with_ his_ clothing?"

Misty seemed to be calmed by this response. Her face resumed its normal color as she sat back down, trying to decide whether or not the way he'd said "interesting" was a compliment. The comment made sense, but somehow, she felt as though she were being made the punch line of some sideways joke that she wasn't intended to get.

Pulling the pan from the stove, Lilly salted and peppered the eggs, serving everyone around the table before scooping the last bit onto her plate and taking it back to the washbasin. There was a lively spring in her step as she pranced back to her seat, pulled back the chair and sat down, crossing her legs after scooting it back into place.

Lotus rubbed his hands together, smacking his lips as he waited for the eggs to cool down. Cracking his knuckles, he leaned back a bit and picked up his fork.

"In any case, you needn't to worry about Jin'ei for now," he said. "I've drawn up protective symbols all about the house and the yard. If he tries to get anywhere near us, I'll know right away. He won't be able to harm you while you're under my protection."

Lotus shoved a forkful of eggs into his mouth

"Why would Jin'ei want to attack us in the first place?" Misty asked.

Lotus shrugged. "It doesn't make sense to me," he mumbled, chewing noisily. "He's not the kind of person who would do such a thing. Not if he could have someone else do it for him, anyway. These are very good, Lilly."

The old sorcerer swallowed loudly, then started humming to himself as he thought. As far as he knew, Jin'ei had never openly attacked someone in such a manner. He would never have risked being seen doing anything unlawful, unless it was too important to trust to someone else. But what could possibly be the significance of three children?

As Ash started into his eggs, he felt a strange warmth against his leg. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the medallion he had found. He had forgotten about it until just now and hadn't really taken the time to examine it in detail. Its soft glow gave him the unusual impression that it wanted something. The notion was silly, though. It was just a piece of bronze, no different from a medal he might earn at a competition.

Suddenly, Ash realized something that sent a shiver running down his spine. He'd left the medallion in the pocket of his other pants. It couldn't have been slipped in by someone else; only Pikachu knew about it and he would have noticed if someone had tried to do that anyway. Somehow, it had moved into his pocket on its own. How it could have, he couldn't begin to guess, but he found the thought a little creepy.

After a moment, he became aware of an odd silence that had fallen over the room. Lotus had stopped humming. Glancing up, he saw the sorcerer staring at him, his eyes wide with horror. A bit of his breakfast fell from his gaped mouth back onto his plate.

"Grandfather, what's wrong?" Lilly asked.

Lotus' voice trembled as he spoke to Ash. "Where did you find that?" he stuttered.

Ash looked at the medallion, then back to Lotus. "Pikachu found it," he answered. "By the river."

"The river?" the sorcerer whispered softly. "May I see it for a moment?"

Ash held the medallion out to him. Lotus, reached out slowly, hesitantly, tapping it with his finger before he reluctantly took it. He glared at it intensely, a shadow passing over his face. At that moment, he seemed very old and weary. The creases of his face that at first appeared to be cheerful, now made him seem ancient and withered. His lips moved, as if he was speaking, but no audible sound came out. Handing it back, he pushed back his chair and rose to his feet.

"I will be in my study," he said.

"What about your breakfast?" his granddaughter asked.

The old man looked down at the plate for a moment, clicking his tongue. He lifted it to his mouth and scooped the all of the food in at once, swallowing it with a loud gulp. Without another word, he hastily left the room, leaving everyone else in a state of stunned silence.


	4. Jin'ei's Plot

4 Jin'ei's Plot

The frost's frigid fingers still clung to the foliage when the four friends set out to retrieve their belongings. The sun had begun to peek over the mountains, but with the gray clouds that blanketed all but a few patches of the sky, it didn't look like it was going to warm up very quickly. It was too cold to snow, so the clouds could only mean rain, if anything at all. With the lack of the morning sunlight, everything appeared drab and discolored, the trees weary and tired from holding up their frozen leaves. It wasn't exactly a great way to start the day.

Misty shivered as the chill air nipped at her legs and arms. If the others felt cold, they seemed to be ignoring it, making her feel a little envious. If she had thought to grab her pack before running off through the forest like a frightened animal, she could have put on a warmer set of clothes. She scolded herself for not being able to keep a clear head under the stress, not so much for forgetting her pack, but for giving way to her fear. She'd been in hazardous situations before, some more dangerous than that, at least when you looked at them from the right perspective.

Ash was caught up in his own thoughts enough that he didn't notice the cold. His hand kept slipping into his pocket, fingering the medallion and wondering what it had to do with the strange turn of events. Even more prevalent in his mind, was the worry that this problem might keep him from his tournament. He couldn't miss it, it was the Bridenbecker's Memorial Cup. No trainer would ever pass up that kind of opportunity.

Brock's thoughts were also about the medallion. It didn't appear to be anything special, but Lotus had reacted to the sight of it so vehemently. What could it be? Was that little trinket what Jin'ei was after? If it was, why did he want it enough to kill for it? Perhaps the Lotus always acted that way. After all, he was more than a little eccentric and he couldn't quite be sure what was going on in the old man's head. He decided to ask.

"Lilly?" he spoke up. "What was the deal with your grandfather?"

Lilly shook her head, her eyes wide with shock. "I don't know," she said. "On rare occasions, he'll get serious about things, but I've never seen him like that before. He looked like he was scared out of his head."

Ash took the medallion from his pocket. It was definitely the medallion that had made Lotus act so strangely. He wondered if it was dangerous and considered throwing it back into the river. The medallion apparently didn't approve of that idea, for the moment the thought entered his mind it grew icy cold. With a surprised gasp, he let it drop from his hand, grabbing a hold of its string before it slipped completely out of his grasp.

Misty saw it and asked, "What about that thing?"

Lilly glanced at the medallion and shrugged. "I've never seen that before, either," she said. "It could be an artifact from before the scourging, which might explain my grandfather's reaction to it."

"Artifact?" Ash asked.

"Scourging?" Misty added to the question.

"The dark age," the magician explained, "when those who practiced magic were hunted down and killed, which is why this isn't a common art any more. Before that time, a lot of powerful magical objects were created. Most of them have been accounted for, but at least twelve of them are still missing. We call those the 'lost artifacts.'"

"And this?" Ash asked, again holding up the medallion.

Again, Lilly only shrugged resignedly. What it was and what it did was beyond her knowledge. Her grandfather might have had an idea about it, but that didn't seem to help them in any way at the moment. They would all just have to wait until he could figure it out. If he actually could.

They came to the clearing where the three friends had set up camp the night before, where what Lotus had said about Jin'ei proved to be correct. The area was completely undisturbed and it was only with some coaxing that Pikachu or Murkrow could be convinced to come anywhere close to it and, even then, they would not go far from their trainers' side.

Brock checked the fire pit first. The fire was out, of course, but strangely, theembers were colder than they should have been and even had bits of frozen moisture clinging to them. Just to be safe, he stirred up the ashes with a shovel anyway, burying them under the dirt. Without wasting any time, he quickly began to gather his camping gear, Ash helping him.

Misty went straight to her backpack, immediately pulling her coat from it and putting it on. She slipped a pair of wool pants on over her shorts, ignoring the slight discomfort in exchange for the warmth. After slipping on a pair of mittens, she, too, went to help the others.

Only with all four of them pushing at once were they able to move the fallen tree enough to get at the tent. It was useless now, its tarp torn and poles snapped. Brock and Ash rolled it up as best they could and put it back in its bag.

"Lilly," Misty asked as Brock made a quick check of everything, "where do your parents live?"

Lilly winced slightly at the question. "They don't," she answered after an uneasy pause.

Misty was about to apologize, but Ash interrupted her.

"Don't what?"

"Live," Lilly replied. "We were in a car crash when I was young and they didn't survive."

Brock stopped loading his pack for a moment and slapped Ash on the shoulder with the back of his hand. Ash glanced at Brock questioningly, and the older boy glared at him with a look of shock.

"I'm sorry," Misty said quickly.

Lilly shook her head. "It's alright," she replied. "I live with my grandfather now, in spite of everything."

"In spite of everything?" Ash asked.

Again, Brock hit Ash on the shoulder, shooting him an even more shocked glare, while Ash's expression was just as blank as the first time.

"My dad and Grandfather didn't get on well. They always shouted at each other, but he was my closest relative, so Dad must have figured it would be easier that way." She slumped down on the stump of the tree that Jin'ei had knocked down and sighed. "Sometimes I think he wouldn't be very happy with me if he were still alive."

"Why not?" Ash asked.

"Dad didn't like magic," she said. "That's why they were always fighting."

Brock's fist landed heavily on the top of Ash's head, bringing tears to the young boy's eyes. With a groan of pain, he grasped at his head, glaring indignantly back at Brock, who returned the look with an expression of utterly stupefied frustration.

"What?" Ash demanded.

Brock threw up his hands in defeat, heaving an irritated sigh as he shoved the last of his gear into his hiking pack. "You dolt," he muttered as he lifted his pack up and strapped it to his back, turning to Lilly with an apologetic glance.

Ash stared, clueless, at Brock, then looked to Misty, who also glared at him coldly, then to Lilly, his eyes begging for some explanation. For a moment, Lilly tried to hold herself back, stifling her chuckle and covering her smile with her hand. The effort became futile and her laughter burst through, Ash's shoulders slumping dejectedly at the sound of it. Putting her hand on her forehead, Lilly stood up and started back toward the cottage.

"So, this Jin'ei guy," Misty asked, changing the subject. "Is he a magician too?"

"Actually, he's an esper," Lilly said.

"What's an esper?" Ash inquired.

The boy glanced quickly at Brock, ready to evade any oncoming blows. When he saw none were coming, he looked back to Lilly for the answer, who again chuckled slightly. Ash's brow furrowed in frustration. Why was she laughing at him?

"An esper is person who has high level psychic abilities," Lilly explained.

"You mean, like Sabrina?" Brock asked, remembering their visit to the Saffron City gym.

Lilly thought for a moment. "Actually," she replied, "I think Sabrina is just an adept. It's very difficult to become an esper or a sorcerer, especially if you try to do it on your own, like Sabrina does. Most people get help from a guild to train."

"Wait a minute," Ash interrupted. "If Jin'ei isn't a sorcerer, why would he want a magical thing?"

"Some of the magical artifacts were made for espers," Lilly explained. "If this really is one of the lost artifacts and the thing Jin'ei is looking for, it makes me wonder exactly what he's thinking. He would be forbidden to use any of the powers that it could possibly give him."  
"Pi?" Pikachu said.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked, echoing his pokemon's question.

"Jin'ei was thrown out of the order almost four and a half years ago," Lilly went on. "He's not allowed to use his powers. He'd get into serious trouble if the Conclave finds out about this."

Lilly suddenly gasped, stopping mid-step. A terrified expression came to her face as she glanced about nervously. Her friends looked at her curiously and she suddenly shuddered.

"Grandfather's going to be furious," she whispered fearfully. She dropped to her knees and tugged on the brim of her hat. "Oh! I'm in so much trouble now!"

"What's wrong?" Brock asked.

"Promise you won't repeat anything I've said to anyone," she begged, reaching out and clinging to Brock's vest.

"Why not?" queried Ash.

"Because, if you do," Lilly replied, sincere dread filling her voice, "we'll all be in a very wretched situation."

Seeing the complete horror in Lilly's eyes, the other's quickly agreed to the promise. Lilly calmed down a bit, releasing Brock's clothes, but her uneasiness did not ebb, even after she had risen to her feet. She dusted herself off a bit and then sighed.

"So, what's the problem?" Misty queried.

"I've told you too much," Lilly answered. "There are rules against telling people about us. You aren't even supposed to know that I can do real magic."

"Why not?" Ash asked again.

Lilly began to draw circles in the dirt with her boot, avoiding eye contact with her friends. "The Conclave considers it dangerous to tell people who aren't in the orders of magic or psyonics about us. People don't understand what we do and because of that, many fear and hate us. The scourging happened because that fear became so overwhelming that it drove them to hunt us down. They nearly wiped us all out. Ever since then, the Conclave has tried to keep our existence a secret and they're very strict when dealing with those who endanger our order."

"I can understand why they would be," Brock stated. "But, why would telling us be dangerous?"

"Because there are still sorcerer slayers in the world," Lilly explained. "Most people wouldn't believe you if you told them about the last time we met, but if one of the slayers were to hear it, they might be able to find us. Very few people outside the order know about us and those that do are watched carefully."

"Does that mean . . .?" Brock started.

"Yes," Lilly replied. "Ever since the Conclave found out, every guild in the world has been keeping an eye on you when you come to their cities. You've probably met some of us while traveling as well, though they won't have revealed themselves to you."

"You didn't get into trouble, did you?" Misty asked.

Lilly nodded gravely. "I'm currently on a ten year probation. I'm forbidden to use any magic and I will automatically receive five demerits when I'm tested for rank advancement. I'm also held responsible for anything that should happen because of what you say or do. If the Conclave is forced to take action, they will do the same thing to me that they do to you."

"What would they do?" Ash inquired, almost afraid of the answer.

"It all depends on what the council member who is given the decision feels is appropriate," Lilly said. "Judging from similar situations, they would probably be satisfied with having us muted, or something like that."

"That seems a little harsh," Misty remarked.

Lilly laughed, her countenance bordering on hysteria. "That's nothing," she told them. "I'd _hope_ for a punishment like that. It's only because you wouldn't intentionally cause harm that something so merciful would be considered. Under other circumstances, the Conclave has been known to order people driven insane, or even executed. It isn't exactly notorious for leniency."

There was a grim silence as everyone digested the information. Ash swallowed hard, imagining a number of terrible things that could happen. Realizing his danger for the first time, he suddenly felt sick to his stomach and his knees buckled. Misty caught him before he fell and held him steady. For a moment, he allowed her to hold him, then let go and sat down while he tried to find the strength to stand.

"Why would you want to have such cruel leaders?" Brock demanded. "If someone purposefully tried to hurt you, I'd understand, but that's just nuts."

Lilly winced at Brock's harsh words. "It's not really as bad as I made it sound," she admitted. "The Conclave isn't cruel, they're just strict is all. They would only do something like that if it was absolutely necessary and, since your children, they would probably decide that you would only have to suffer the punishment for a year or so and then let you off with a warning. They don't enjoy doing those kinds of things, but their first concern must be for the safety of the order. In fact, the current leader of the Order of Sorcery got his position because his predecessor killed himself out of guilt for what he had been forced to do."

Ash, finally finding the strength in his legs, rose to his feet, accepting Brock's help. "Well," he nervously remarked, "Given the choice, I think I'll keep this to myself."

The others agreed with the sentiment. Lilly smiled, but her eyes still held an edge of worry in them. With another sigh, she turned around and started back to her home.

"Let's get home," she said. "It's time for lunch."

---

It was around four o'clock in the afternoon and the sun was finally beginning to peek out through the clouds, though it was just about to set and there would not be enough time for the day to warm up. The dreary day didn't seem to bother the wild pokemon gathered around a spring, however. They casually huddled around it, drinking its cool water without so much as a thought about the chill air. They could handle the cold. They knew how to survive, even if the forest around them were assaulted by a blizzard. This time, however, the blizzard seemed to be on the inside.

They had never experienced this unnatural cold before. They glanced about nervously, searching for the source of their discomfort and shied away from the spring, fur standing on end. They couldn't see it, but some evil was fast approaching, and this strange enemy continued to drain the warmth from their bodies. One by one, the animals darted from the area in panic.

Moments later, Jin'ei materialized in a flash of light, standing in the water at the edge of the spring, swishing out his new cape with a ridiculous and unnecessary flair and letting his hand come to rest on the rapier that now hung from his belt.

Rogers had spent a few hours that morning sharpening the blade and cleaning away the dust it had gathered. Now, his weapon was at its best, just as he was, and ready for use in battle. He didn't actually expected to use it, but it looked good and would make for an interesting conversation piece when he went out from now on. Not to say he couldn't use it; Rogers had taught him the finer points of fencing when he was young and if the need arose, he could defend himself well enough. Mostly, however, it was bravado.

Jin'ei was so pleased with himself and his great plan that he didn't notice that his feet were cold until the water seeped through his shoes. He opened his eyes, glancing down and finally realizing where he had landed. With an exclamation of disgust, he leapt from the water, his back thudding against a tree. He inspected his footwear with a frustrated groan and shuddered at the sight of the filth, cursing his poor aim.

After taking a moment to shake the wetness from his feet, he began to absorb the details of his surroundings. Near the spring, he saw an oak tree with a split trunk, just as he had hoped to find. He had spent the earlier portion of the day reading his old books and studying maps, trying to locate the person would solve his problems for him. Supposing that his sources were correct, he would find him soon and then that doddering old fool would regret that he crossed paths with Artemis Jin'ei.

Little was known about the man who referred to himself as Lupus, the hunter. There were numerous speculations as to how he had been killing for the past two millennia, ranging from the plausible to the bizarre. Some sorcerers believed that the hunter was invincible, that he could take blow after blow and feel no pain, pushing forward until he had completed his kill. Others thought he was a monster, some horrible demon summoned or created by magic experiments gone terribly awry. The most likely theory, however, was that the name, "Lupus," was simply passed down from generation to generation to instill fear into the minds of his victims. Whatever the case was, one thing was certain; once Lupus set his sights on a target, there was no escape. It was that fact that interested Jin'ei.

He marched on through the forest, trying to locate the hidden cave where Lupus dwelled. Many sorcerers had also tried to find the slayer, hopping to catch him unaware in his home. Those who returned had never found him. He liked the reputation that this slayer had.

He didn't care much for the cold air, however. Or the trees, or the mud or anything else that made nature different from civilization. Why someone would want to live in such a place was beyond his ability to understand. With the annoying insects and animals, the dirt everywhere, the freezing winters and hot summers, he would just as soon tongue a snake as make his home in the forest. A revolted groan escaped him as he again thought about his soiled shoes. He thoroughly regretted that he had been wearing one of his better pairs. It would take him months to find another pair of such quality and most likely cost him a great deal of money. Again he cursed himself for his poor aim.

Where was it? The cave should have been close. His two minutes in the dirty outdoors had already worn down his patience. Only the thought of his goal allowed him to continue, but he was beginning to feel that he would rather deal with the problem personally then spend another minute in the filth of nature.

The path suddenly came to sharp incline, too steep to climb safely. He followed the cliff wall in search of an easier path, muttering angry curses under his breath as he brushed aside the numerous tree branches that hung out in his path.

An angry growl caught his attention, his hand moving to the hilt of his blade. Turning around slowly, he faced the houndour. The dog pokemon advanced on him menacingly, its teeth bared and its ears held rigid and defensive. He backed away from it, his hand instinctually moving toward the rapier that hung from his belt. There were several more warning growls as the rest of the pack came into sight. Despite his loathing of the animals, he was pleased to see them. It meant that everything was going as he had planned.

He continued to back away from the wild dogs until he came upon the cave, a large opening in the rock draped over with vines of ivy. Grinning in exhilaration, he began to slowly approach the opening. Before he was able to reach it, another houndour leapt down from its resting-place above the entrance. It barked furiously at him, staring him down with its ruthless, fiery gaze.

Jin'ei swallowed hard. Even though that particular dog was smaller than the others, it had a much more aggressive attitude. He wouldn't be able to get near the cave unless he could get passed it and it wasn't going to let him go by so easily. He could have used his psychic powers to fight it off simple enough, but he was sure that the slayer had some fetish for the foul beasts and he didn't want to get on the bad side of someone as dangerous as Lupus. He cleared his throat and then spoke loudly enough that anyone in the cave would be able to hear him.

"I wish speak to your master," he said. "Where is Lupus?"

The houndour growled and continued to advance toward him. For a moment, Jin'ei wondered if he had really found the right place. Fear crept into his mind as the wild dog hunched back, preparing to attack.

"Hold, Dokoto," came a brusque voice from within the cave. "Let him approach."

The dog stopped, looking back toward the cave questioningly. Again the voice ordered it to move aside. With a final disapproving snarl, it stepped away from the entrance and sat down, never once taking its eyes off the intruder.

"Enter."

Swallowing the lump of fear in his throat, Jin'ei walked slowly toward the mouth of the cave, eyeing the dog suspiciously. He stopped just outside the cave and stared through the mess of vines into the darkness.

"Come closer," the voice ordered.

Jin'ei took a deep breath to calm himself and moved forward into the blackness, pushing aside the botanical veil. The light from outside dimmed the further he went until he couldn't see more than a few inches in front of his face.

"I am Lupus," he heard to the left of him. "What do you want?"

Jin'ei turned in the direction of the voice. "I can't see you," he said.

Lupus laughed cynically. "That's alright," he replied. "I can see _you._"

Jin'ei gasped softly, his hand once again closing on his rapier. "That's rather disturbing."

Again, Lupus laughed at him, a hollow, mirthless laugh that unnerved the esper. "Well," he prompted, "speak your business quickly."

Jin'ei took a step back, scowling at the slayer's impertinence. He took a moment to concentrate, forcing his aura to glow, softly at first, but gradually increasing in intensity until it illuminated the entire cave. In the lavender glow of his energy, he laid eyes on the legendary sorcerer slayer for the first time.

Sitting on one knee and leaning against the wall, Lupus glared at him, a long, curved sword grasped firmly in his small hands. Dressed in a fur cowl, leather hide clothing and almost knee length boots, his nomadic appearance made Jin'ei frown disapprovingly. His arms and head were wrapped in strips of bandage-like cloth and the collar of his cloak was drawn tight over his lower jaw, a long black scarf hanging about his shoulders. Not a single part of his body was visible.

Jin'ei could understand the cover, though; he would've wrapped himself up like a mummy, too, if he had been so grotesquely deformed. His flat nose and oddly shaped jaws jutted outward and his forehead was too small and sloped forward at an almost unnoticeable angle. Pressed against his head by the bandages, Jin'ei couldn't make out the exact shape of his ears, though they were clearly too far up on his head.

It was the slayer's green eyes that were most discomforting, however. His sharp, unblinking glare had an inhuman quality to it, like a wolf staring down its prey. Under the ever-wary scrutiny of those forest colored orbs, Jin'ei suddenly felt small and helpless.

Sweat began to trickle down the back of his head. He smiled, forcing himself to maintain his confident appearance. The grip on his rapier slowly released and he cleared his throat.

"Greetings, sorcerer slayer," he said, bowing low with feigned graciousness. "I am Artemis Jin'ei."

"I don't care what your name is," Lupus growled impatiently. "Speak your business. And step back, you reek of fear."

Jin'ei started, unconsciously backing away. The slayer sneered at him with his eyes, pleased that he had so easily established his dominance of the situation. Jin'ei grimaced indignantly, upset that he had displayed weakness and angry at the effrontery he was being shown.

"Speak," Lupus barked. "I grow tired of looking at you."

Jin'ei snorted. "I've come to ask for your assistance," he said, trying hard to mask the anger in his voice. "I have found a very skilled sorcerer. He is too much for me, but I'm sure one of your skill should be able to kill him. He lives in a small cottage thirty miles east of Blackthorn City." Jin'ei reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a roll of ten thousand yen bills, throwing it at the feet of the slayer. "Consider that a down payment. I can pay four times that much when you complete the job."

He waited for Lupus to reply, forcing himself to remain patient. The slayer remained motionless, looking at the money indifferently for a long time. Finally, Lupus rose to his feet. As he reached for the wad of cash, Jin'ei noticed that the slayer couldn't bend his thumb normally and had difficulty grasping it. With an angry grunt, Lupus threw it back to Jin'ei. He approached him slowly and threateningly.

"Keep your money," he said. "I have no need for it and, besides," he put his face so close to Jin'ei's that the esper could feel his breath, "I don't like your attitude."

He began to walk toward the cave entrance. Jin'ei glared at him for a second, his rage building up.

"How dare you . . ." he started to shout, but the words stuck in his throat.

Lupus turned around slowly, glaring at him questioningly. There was no emotion in his eyes, no hint of anger in his expression or his posture, yet Jin'ei felt terrified of that cold stare. It was empty, heartless; possessed by a single-mindedness that existed beyond the ideas of good or evil, driven neither by desire, nor need. He saw nothing in the slayer's eyes, nothing but the capability for murder and the memories of an undying hatred, which had, itself, faded out of existence. With a frightened gasp, he stumbled backward and tripped over a large stone, tumbling painfully to the ground. Satisfied, Lupus turned back and brushed aside the vines, looking out into the brightness. Jin'ei rose to his feet and followed him out of the cave.

"Thirty miles east of Blackthorn, you say?" he asked.

"That's right," Jin'ei answered.

Lupus took another step and looked up at the sky, considering the distance. Dokoto moved beside him and he scratched the dog behind the ears.

"Three hours," he said finally. "Tonight, the sun will set on a sorcerer's life."

Jin'ei's eyebrows popped up in confusion. "How will you get there?"

"Run," Lupus replied, as though it the answer should have been obvious.

"But it's almost sixty miles," Jin'ei stuttered.

Lupus thought for another moment. "Three hours," he concluded. "I could probably make it in one hour, but my companion has to keep up." He turned to his cave and spoke to the pack. "I will be back late tonight. Do not let anyone near our home while I am away. And you," he added to Jin'ei, "I don't want you here either."

Jin'ei nodded easily. It wasn't as if he had been intent on staying anyway.

Lupus took another step forward, then threw back his head and let loose a howl so savage it couldn't possibly have been human. The rest of the pack joined in the feral chorus, sending a chill up Jin'ei's spine. One by one, the dogs ceased their cries until only Lupus was left, continuing until his howl slowly faded. Without another word, the slayer and his companion bolted into the forest and disappeared in the distance.

Jin'ei remained motionless for a moment, staring with wide, horror-filled eyes, amazed by the inhuman speed with which the slayer moved.

"What the hell _is_ he?" he wondered.

Suddenly, the other houndour began to bark at him fiercely. Jolted out of his thoughts, he darted away in panic. He stopped a safe distance away and looked back at the cave. He shuddered with pure dread. He had never felt such fear before, not under any circumstances. But that was good, he realized. If the hunter could make him afraid, then the sorcerer wouldn't stand a chance.

Smiling, he concentrated on his home and then was gone without a trace.

Author's Note: Now we're starting to see some real changes from the original draft. I'm most interested to know how Lupus comes across to people in this scene, so, for those of you who read this, please write a review and tell me what you think about Lupus's character at this point. If you've already read the first draft, tell me how/if it differs from the original.

Thank you.


	5. Cerebral

5 Cerebral

Lotus was waiting for them when Ash and his friends returned, still in his somber mood. He wouldn't speak about what was on his mind and said little more than was enough to give his granddaughter a few chores to do after lunch. After that, he gave Murkrow a note, ordering it to deliver the message to a man named Aldaris and sat down on the porch chair to wait for its return.

Lilly could offer no explanation for the way her grandfather was acting. When he didn't come in to eat lunch, she began to worry. When asked, he said he simply wasn't hungry and that he had other things on his mind. Finally, she decided that it was useless to ask about it and left him to his silent brooding.

Lilly's chores were mostly cleaning around the house. With help from the others, she quickly completed them and a few more tasks that needed to be done. Conversation eased the work and made the time pass more enjoyably and time seemed to pass quickly as they eagerly regaled each other with stories of all that had happened since the last time they met.

Ash and Brock had engaged each other in a game of chess, Lilly and Misty in conversation, when Murkrow returned a few hours later. The bird glided erratically toward the cottage, overburdened by the immense tome that it clutched in its talons, eagerly turning the text over to the aged sorcerer and returning to its master.

Lotus numbly trudged into the house, his eyes focused on some invisible danger far off in the distance. He stopped over the chessboard, staring down on the wooden pieces. For a moment, the shadow of weariness lifted from his face, just long enough for him to move Brock's rook three spaces, trapping Ash in checkmate. Then, clasping the book under his arm, Lotus disappeared into his study and locked the door behind him.

Brock huddled over the stove in his 'kiss the cook' apron as he stirred the chicken gravy, filling the kitchen with a mouth-watering scent. He lifted the ladle to his mouth to taste it and grinned with pride. He'd surprised even himself with the meal he had managed to cook up, despite his limited options.

Lotus's cottage lacked electricity and gas, meaning that there were no modern appliances. A continuous spell kept the cellar cold enough to store food, but it was mostly bottled vegetables that Lotus had grown in his garden. With the few things he had in his pack, a box of instant rice and some green beans, he was able to prepare a fairly good meal, in spite of not having any real chicken to go with it.

Putting on his mitts, he took the pots off the stove and set them down on the hot pads next to it.

"It's ready," he announced.

The others brought their plates over to the counter, where Brock gave them each a first serving. When the others had their food, he removed his apron, prepared his own dish and took a seat at the table. As they began to eat, there came the click of a door lock, instantly drawing their attention to the study. The doorknob slowly turned and the door creaked open.

Lotus strode into the room, his hands clasped behind his back. The anxiety of his countenance seemed to have eased, for he was once again humming one of his merry tunes. He sauntered over to the counter, eyed the meal and then a broad smile appeared on his face. The four friends watched him scoop a very large portion of food onto a very large plate and sit down.

"You shouldn't have let me skip lunch," he chuckled, looking at his granddaughter. "It's not good for old men like me to go so long without eating."

He started to eat, not revealing any hint of his earlier apprehension. At the sight of his ease, the tension that had lain so thickly over the room broke. The flood of relief visibly showed.

"I'm sorry to have worried you," he said. "It was very irresponsible of me, but I was so startled to see that medallion that I lost my composure."

"So, it's not what you thought it was then?" Misty asked.

"Oh, no," Lotus replied with a grin. "It is exactly as I feared and we are in a great deal of trouble."

There was a moment of stunned silence.

"But you . . ." Brock stuttered.

Lotus shrugged. "Not knowing is half the fear," he explained. "Before, I wasn't sure if we had as big a problem as I suspected. Now that I know for a fact that there is a problem, I'm not so worried about it."

To the others, the old man's logic didn't make any sense. Even Lilly could only shake her head resignedly. It would have been useless to argue the point, so they waited for him to continue with his explanation. The sorcerer didn't seem inclined to talk, however, or else he had forgotten all about the conversation, nobody was quite sure. After several minutes of watching him ravenously devour his meal, he was finally prompted to continue.

"Do you have any idea as to what you have in your possession, Ash?" he asked.

"Not really," he answered. "Lilly told me a little bit about the lost artifacts, but I still don't understand any of it."

Lotus drew a sharp breath, looking at his granddaughter sternly. Lilly seemed to shrivel with fear in her chair as he glared at her.

"How much did you tell them?" he asked.

Lilly averted her eyes. "I didn't mean to," she whimpered. "We were talking and it just slipped out. One thing led to another and before I knew it . . ."

Lotus sighed. "Not good," he said heavily. "Not good at all. You need to learn to watch what you're saying. The Conclave will not accept that excuse this time."

"Am I in trouble again?" she asked, on the verge of tears.

Lotus stared at his granddaughter for a moment, though it seemed like an eternity to both of them. He had his responsibilities to the conclave. He could not let any violation of the rules go unreported, couldn't play favorites. On the other hand, he also had his responsibilities to Lilly as her only living parent and he knew that she would not be let off so easy for a second offense, despite his respected position. Besides that, the danger of her actions didn't seem too great to him. Perhaps he might be able to let it go for now. He nodded his head, resolved in his decision.

"No, my dear," he answered gently. "Not this time. Given the situation, I think he has a right to know what he is involved in. Your friends have done well with the secret in the past, so I will trust them now."

He turned to Ash with a solemn expression. Ash, feeling a sudden strange urge, withdrew the medallion from his pocket and put it on the table. The old man stared at it for long time, carefully considering his words.

"It is not just a lost artifact," Lotus explained. "This is Cerebral, The Sentient, the most powerful artifact ever created. For ages it has been hidden from us and it was hopped that it would remain hidden for all eternity, but it seems fate has other plans for it."

He leaned back in his chair, breathing deeply and his face became very focused. His voice changed as he went into the tale, sounding ancient and full of wisdom.

"Magic is the blood of this world. It springs forth from the planet itself, breathing life into all things. It surrounds us, forming an invisible web that stretches throughout the world, binding us all together. Each life makes it grow stronger. We who study the art learn to focus that energy and use it, drawing us closer to the planet, strongly attuning us to the world. At all times, we hear the voice of nature and we call upon it to gain our power. Sometimes, we use focusing words, incantations, to draw ourselves into a trance that allows us to better hear the call of the planet."

The old man turned to his granddaughter with a nod. Lilly hesitated, staring back at Lotus with a look of incredulity. He nodded again, his expression calm, but insistent. The others watched as Lilly pressed her hands together and began a chant, her words flowing from her, swirling about in the air like the wind. As she finished her chant, she held up one of her hands and waved it through the air, a twisting myriad of colors trailing behind it, drawing gasps of astonishment from the three friends.

"Most pokemon get their abilities from the same source as we do," the sorcerer continued. "With them, however, the energy is more specialized, usually limited to a single element. When we use more powerful spells, we use special ingredients that we have taken from them, hair and scales and such, to channel the energies into more specific forms. At times, pokemon have such a strong focus that something that they have merely touched caries enough residual energy to serve its purpose for our spells."

"Um, Lotus?" Ash asked. "What does this have to do with us?"

Lotus's air of wisdom disintegrated with the interruption. For a moment, he seemed flustered by it, halting for a few moments to reorganize his thoughts. He shot the boy a perturbed glance that silenced him.

"Show some patience, please," he replied. "I thought it might be best for you to have a little understanding of the nature of magic. Now, where was I?"

The old man put a hand to his chin in thought, muttering to himself under his breath.

"Long ago," began again, "before the scourging of sorcery, there was a powerful sorcerer, the likes of whom had never before been seen nor ever seen since. He was completely attuned with the forces of nature and could call them to his aid even without any aid of special ingredients or focusing words.

"But such power always comes with a price. He became so intertwined with the earth that he lost touch with his own humanity. He delved deeper and deeper into the source of magic, strengthening his power and focus until it drove him mad. It became his desire to destroy man and return the world to the way it was before man came to be. Because of his great and terrible magic, entire villages were consumed by the earth or swallowed by the sea. Armies of men marched against him, only to be trampled into the dust and destroyed. At last, the ancient sorcerers realized that they had to intervene.

"No magic could be used against him, for he was in control of the very source of magic, so they turned to the power of mankind instead; the power of human thought. They created a medallion, which could focus a person's thoughts and give them power. Using the power of this medallion, the mad sorcerer's power was finally overthrown and he threw himself down from the highest branch of the Great Camphor Tree."

"Great Camphor Tree?" Misty asked.

Again, Lotus's thoughts seemed to scatter off in every direction. Tapping his foot impatiently, he glared at her in frustration.

"The Great Camphor Tree was where he lived, you might say," he explained. "It is believed that the Great Camphor Tree is the oldest living thing on the earth, but that is a different legend and not greatly related to the one I'm telling you."

"You mean that you're telling us a story?" Ash remarked in a stupor.

The old man looked at the young boy with a sharp glare. "Every life is a story in and of itself, child," he admonished. "A legend is nothing more than a story that gets remembered for a really long time. Some get embellished from being passed by word of mouth for so many years, but this one is exactly as it is written in the conclave's historical records, though I'm abridging it a bit. Now, if there are any other questions, speak them now. I don't like being interrupted."

Lotus waited, glancing about the room at the others, an edge of irritation in his expression. When nobody spoke, he nodded his head slightly and cleared his throat. He opened his mouth to speak, but paused, putting his hand to his forehead. He turned to his granddaughter with an exasperated look.

"Where was I?" he asked. "I've lost my place."

"Threw himself down," Lilly replied.

"Oh, yes, right," the old man said, again clearing his throat. "As it has been proven time and time again, people are easily corrupted by power. So it was with the owner of the medallion. The crown of one tyrant was easily passed to another, one even worse. This time, however, the ancient sorcerers were prepared for such an occurrence.

"Cerebral is called the 'Sentient' because it was given a benign will. Unfortunately, Cerebral's will was not strong enough on its own and, with a little effort, the owner easily bent it to his command. For it to be effective, it needed something to strengthen its power.

"For that, another magical artifact was created. Shimmerblade, the Celestial Sword. The power of the sword was used to give Cerebral enough strength to resist its master's control long enough for the killing blow to be delivered.

"Victory had been achieved, but the price was high. The strain of using the sword's power was too much for its wielder to bear and so the greatest of the ancient sorcerers died and many other lives were lost in the battle to reclaim the medallion. In order to prevent Cerebral's power from being misused again, the remaining members of the first Conclave hid it away in a secret shrine, protected by powerful spells. Its location was never to be revealed and to ensure it, the Conclave killed themselves, taking the knowledge with them into death."

The old man finished his tale with a deep sigh. A heavy silence settled over the room while Ash and his friends tried to absorb all of the details of the story. The reflective quiet was suddenly shattered by Lotus's loud chewing.

"That is the story of Cerebral," he mumbled, his mouth full of food. "At least as it was written in the Conclave's history."

"But if nobody knew where the shrine was hidden," Ash asked, "how did Jin'ei find it?"

"That's easily enough discerned," the old man replied. "The location of the shrine apparently _was_ recorded somewhere, but how it was kept a secret from us, I couldn't begin guess."

"So, this medallion can give a person psychic powers?" Misty asked.

Lotus nodded solemnly. "And not just basic abilities. It was intended to allow such power as to defeat the greatest sorcerer who ever lived. If it can do that to a normal person, imagine what it would do to Jin'ei, who already has incredible power."

"He'd be unstoppable," Brock commented.

"Exactly," Lotus replied. "Whatever his goal may be, if he possesses Cerebral, he will achieve that goal. If I know Jin'ei, and there are very few in the order that do not, than he will go to any extreme to get his hands on it, even kill, or worse."

Ash swallowed hard as the grim realization fell on him. He slid the medallion across the table to Lotus.

"Take it," he pleaded. "You could protect it better than me, right?"

Lotus shook his head, drawing back away from the thing as though it were a venomous serpent. "It's not that simple," he explained. "Cerebral has already made its attempt to defend itself by binding itself to you. You are its possessor and so long as you live, it can't be taken from you. It is possible to give it willingly, but I don't dare take it. I'm too old for the temptation of power to take hold in me, but there are others in the order, others who hold higher positions. It would change hands too many times and undoubtedly it would end up in the possession of one who should not have it. No, my boy, until a more permanent solution can be found, you must keep it."

"But that means that Jin'ei will keep chasing Ash," Misty said.

The old man nodded firmly. "As long as I am able to protect you, Jin'ei will not dare to try anything. For the moment, you are safe and will remain so as long as you are here."

Ash couldn't believe what was happening. A crazed psychic was after him because of some medallion and he couldn't even give it away to someone who could keep it safe. On top of that, he was stuck staying in a small cottage with an eccentric old sorcerer until the problem was solved, without any guarantee that it would be. He suddenly realized another problem that this caused him.

"I can't stay here forever," he protested. "I've got an invitation to a really important tournament at Blackthorn City."

Lotus stared at the boy with wide-eyed disbelief. After a moment, he chuckled.

"I must say, that's quite a priority problem you've got there," he remarked. "You're right, of course. You can't stay here forever, that would be far too many mouths for me to feed."

"What will you do, Grandfather?" Lilly asked.

Lotus put a hand to his chin, stroking his half-shaved stubble in deep thought. The situation had become very difficult. Jin'ei had always been known for his relentlessness in pursuing his goals. Patience, on the other hand, had never been one of his exceedingly limited virtues. Whatever was to be done, it would need to be done quickly, for though impatient and quick to act, Jin'ei had a sharp mind and left little room for error in his actions. If given enough time, Jin'ei would outthink him. The protection he provided was, in truth, very limited.

A loud, savage voice crashed through the open window and fell on his ears, pulling him from his thoughts.

"Come out!" the voice bellowed. "Come out now and face me!"

* * *

Well, it certainly took me a long time to submit this chapter. But then, I don't think anyone is avidly awaiting updates, given that this is the second draft people have already read the story. Oh, well, whatever.

Meh . . .


	6. The Hunter Strikes

6 The Hunter Strikes

Waiting outside the cottage beside the hunter, Dokoto stood with its head held high, eagerly awaiting the opportunity to please its master. This was something new to the dog. From the time it had first been born, Dokoto had never felt such intensity from its master. There was some purpose driving the hunter now, a goal burning within him that overshadowed all others, including his very survival. The dog could not understand this drive, but that wasn't important. All that mattered was the goal and Dokoto only wanted to help its master fulfill this purpose. With a supportive growl, it pressed its head up against the hunter's side. Lupus reached down with his disfigured hands and scratched the hound behind the ears.

"Good boy," he whispered. "Do not attack unless I call for you."

He turned back to the cottage, with an impatient glare. Why was it taking so long?

"If you are in there," he shouted angrily, "then come out now!"

With the squeak of a rusty hinge, the door opened. Lupus watched calmly as an aged figured appeared at the threshold, his hands clasped firmly behind his back. He stepped lightly off his small porch onto the grass and shook his head. He eyed the slayer with the patient look of one who has grown accustomed to the hastiness of youth.

"Hmm, hmm," he muttered, apparently to himself. "What's this? Someone yells at me from my front lawn. How vulgar. What is the world coming to, if common courtesy is so alien to our youth?"

His voice became more direct as he addressed Lupus. "Are you aware that it is rude to shout at your elders, young man? You should at least have the civility to knock at the door. We were just eating dinner, now, you know. If you'd been more polite, I might have invited you in to sit with us. It's a lovely meal."

Lilly felt her stomach sink into her legs at the sight of the stranger as she and the others crowded around the door, peeking out at him in confusion. She could feel the ill intent of the stranger directed toward her grandfather, an incomprehensible desire to do harm that drained the color from her face. As she stared into the hunter's face, an overwhelming sense of infinity came upon her, a timelessness that expanded beyond the normal comprehension of man. What could he want? What was he?

The hunter's eyes narrowed. "The day of judgment is at hand," he declared. "Are you prepared to face it?"

Lotus's expression suddenly became very distant, his eyes widening in a mixture of terror and annoyance. He stared blankly, his gaze focused on some horror only he could see.

"Jury duty again," he mumbled loudly. Turning back toward his home, he said, "No, I've no time for that. I'm sorry you came all this way for nothing, but I can't help you. Good night."

Lupus tensed up, his eye twitching. The sword slid from its sheath with a sharp ring. "You would mock your executioner?" he growled.

The old man hesitated in the doorway, letting loose a heavy sigh. Clicking his tongue, he turned back to face the slayer, an unconcerned look on his face.

"Executioner?" he repeated doubtfully. "You shout at me from my lawn, demanding that I come out to see you, and you tell me that you are my executioner? Not only are you exceptionally tactless, but you are a fool as well. Do you know who you are talking to?"

Lupus grunted. "You are a sorcerer," he replied. "I need no further information. _I_ am Lupus, the hunter, and _you_ are my prey."

The name struck Lotus as a physical blow, staggering him. His foot inched back a step and fear crept into his eyes. Steeling his expression, he tilted his head toward the door and whispered to his granddaughter.

"Get my pouches," he instructed. "Quickly."

As Lilly disappeared into the house, Lotus stepped slowly off the porch, his eyes never leaving the slayer. He planted his feet on the ground, positioning himself in the best possible stance to evade his opponent's attacks until he could get his components. Lupus growled, recognizing his victim's movements.

At once, the assault began. Lupus came forward with such speed that it was all his prey could do to fall clumsily out of the way of the blade. The next jab sank into the earth between Lotus's right arm and torso, barely missing the flesh. The old man's leg shot up abruptly, catching Lupus on the hand and knocking it away from the weapon.

Lupus, too focused on his attack to be surprised by his aged opponent's dexterity, twirled with the blow, catching his sword with his other hand and bringing it down on the rebound. A gash appeared on Lotus's left arm as he was rising to his feet, blood splattering on the ground as he fell back again.

The next blow would have killed the sorcerer if the hunter hadn't been forced to pull it off to avoid the thunderbolt that came between them, landing several feet back. He twirled to face the interloper, fire burning in the forest of his eyes. Ash and Pikachu stood before him, prepared to attack.

"Don't interfere!" he roared.

"Leave him alone," cried another voice that matched his own for furry.

As the slayer's attention shifted to the young girl his eyes widened in shock. He stared at her in disbelief, his mouth gaped open beneath his collar, his sword falling from his hand. The small face with its round cheeks, the tousled, auburn hair, the innocent green eyes; it couldn't be! His throat constricted and a strangled gasp escaped from him. In his stupor, a single word stumbled its way from his mouth.

"M-Morgan?"

"Morgan?" Ash repeated, looking back at Misty.

Misty stared back at Lupus with a blank expression. She had expected to face the hunter's anger, steeled herself against the coming rage, but this strange reaction stole the words from her mouth. She stared back, too stunned to move.

Immediately, the realization of what he had just said dawned on the hunter. He grasped his head with both hands, closing his eyes and shaking it violently to drive away the memories that haunted him. He muttered to himself in a quiet, shaky tone, choking on his words.

"No, it's not her. It can't be her."

Several agonizing seconds passed before Lupus finally regained his senses. Bending down to retrieve his sword, he shot Misty a stern glance, but his conviction seemed to have weakened.

"Stay out of this if you don't want to get hurt," he warned, pointing his blade at the two of them.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed Lilly rushing to her grandfather. Turning, he charged in to intercept, only to be cut off by a second thunderbolt, leaping straight up into the trees to evade it. He shot Ash a warning glare, only to have it returned with another. With a quick glance, he saw the sorcerer strapping on the belt of pouches, while his granddaughter ran back to the safety of the house.

A low growl of frustration rumbled in his throat. He didn't have time to waste on a kid, not now that his opponent had armed himself. Seeing the boy's pikachu, he realized the simple solution. He called to his companion and pointed at the electric rodent.

"Deal with them," he ordered.

Lupus didn't bother to watch Dokoto fight. He had other things to worry about and he was confident in his dog's abilities. Hopping down from the tree, the slayer stalked toward his prey. In his hand, Lotus held a wand of pink and white coral, pointing it at his attacker. Lupus' eyes narrowed as he lifted his blade, aiming the point for his prey's heart.

---

Dokoto growled furiously at its opponent, teeth bared. Pikachu stood unflinching as the houndour slowly advanced toward it. It understood that if it failed, Lotus could die and it was determined to protect its friends. It could sense its opponent's own determination, however. Dokoto didn't care who it faced, it only knew one thing; this creature was in its master's way and that made it angry. The two pokemon's eyes met with resolution.

"Ready?" Ash asked.

"Pika!"

Dokoto struck first. An eerie blue light emanated from its eyes just as the gaze of the two creatures met. The order to attack never registered in Pikachu's mind. All it could see was the demonic glow of Dokoto's eyes and all it heard was the dog's cruel snarl. Under that fierce glare, an icy wave of terror seized hold of Pikachu's heart and it shrank back, cringing with fear.

Dokoto's roar shook the forest as it charged forward. Panicked, Pikachu tried to flee, but Dokoto's teeth sank into its neck. Ash cried out in rage as he watched his dear friend thrashed about violently by the houndour's powerful jaws, squealing in pain.

Dokoto tossed the pokemon to the ground. Pikachu struggled to rise to its feet, but the hound rushed forward relentless, placing its head under Pikachu's body and throwing it into a tree. Pouncing on the lightning mouse the moment it hit the ground, Dokoto pinned it, chomping brutally on it repeatedly.

"Stop it!" Ash demanded, rushing the dog.

Dokoto snapped its head toward him, flames spewing from its open mouth. Ash ducked, allowing the attack to overshoot him, the flames passing perilously close. Dokoto growled at him, then looked back to Pikachu. Lifting its paws from the mouse, the dog sniffed it curiously. With a satisfied snort, the houndour turned from its opponent and trotted away.

Ash stumbled forward, dropping to his knees as he reached Pikachu. The pokemon lay still, bleeding heavily from its numerous wounds, its breath shallow and labored. Unbridled tears rolling down his cheeks, Ash gently lifted his friend and cradled it in his arms.

"Pikachu," he sobbed. "Say something."

Pikachu remained silent.

"Take it inside," Lilly ordered him urgently. "We have to stop the bleeding."

Rising to his feet, Ash rushed toward the house, his friends following close behind.

---

Lupus charged, his sword leading him on. At the sorcerer's command word, a volley of spikes leapt from the wand, whistling through the air toward the slayer. Moonlight and sparks danced on the steel of the hunter's twirling sword as each spike clanged against it. The wand offered little resistance as Lupus's blade passed effortlessly through it, bursting into an explosion of light. Lotus ducked to the side moments before the second strike came from overhead, reaching into his pouch for his next spell's components.

The hunter's third strike stopped before it fell, interrupted by the brilliant flare that struck him directly in the face. The shock and pain caused him stumble back, blinded and dazed, covering his eyes with his free hand. Lotus had hoped to use the slayer's blindness to distance himself from his attacker, but Lupus had dealt such spells before and recovered from the surprise quickly. Without his sight, he focused on the sound of his prey's retreating footsteps.

Lotus had not expected the attack so soon. Caught off his guard, he felt the sword slash across his back, drawing a long red line. Gasping in pain, he stumbled forward, barely managing to dodge the next blow. The third attack tore a hole in the front of his robes, only just missing his flesh, and he fell back against the tree.

With a triumphant shout, he thrust the sword forward, smiling as he heard the old man cry out in alarm and felt the blade sink into the tree. The smile faded when the sound of retreating footsteps reached his ears.

Growling, he tugged at his sword, but it held fast in the bark. Pressing his foot against the trunk, he pulled with all his weight. Still the sword would not come out. With a frustrated roar, he hopped forward, pressing down with one leg and smashing his other foot into the tree, pushing the blade further into the tree as he did. The trunk shuddered, snapped and toppled backward, releasing its grip on the weapon.

Lotus stared at the slayer in horror. How could anyone have such strength? It wasn't humanly possible! He took a step backward as the Lupus turned on him, once again opening his eyes.

Lotus's hand went to his belt; Lupus's raised the sword. The hunter struck, rushing forward with redoubled tenacity. Lotus threw out his hand, shouting the words of a spell. Time slowed to a crawl as the sword began to fall, gleaming coldly in the moonlight. Lotus saw every inch of movement with perfect clarity, as though the swing were passing through water. The crackle of building energy preluded the strong scent of ozone, magic growing in the sorcerer's hands as he finished the incantation. A sparkling golden beam leapt from the sorcerer's hand, its force throwing him to the ground. Lupus knew instantly what it meant, but, too close to evade, could do nothing but watch.

The burst of energy struck the hunter on the chest, blasting the air from his lungs. The force of the beam lifted him from his feet and launched him like a bullet exploding from the chamber of a gun. Hurtling through the air, his head struck the branch of a tree, sending him into an erratic spin, his sword falling from his hand. He crashed into the hard earth, rolled until he struck the trunk of another tree and sprawled out limply on its roots, two hundred feet from where the beam first struck him.

Lotus rose to his feet with a heavy sigh. He stared dazedly at the flaccid body of the sorcerer slayer, not sure what to do next. He felt his mouth dry up as he watched Dokoto race to its fallen master's side. The dog gently nuzzled Lupus's body with its nose, whimpering pleadingly.

"You did it, Grandfather," Lilly shouted, the flood of relief turning to joy as she rushed to him. "You . . ."

She stopped short when her grandfather turned to her, covering her mouth with a gloved hand. She had never seen Lotus look so pitifully weary. The weight of every single year of his long life pulled down on his face and his shoulders sagged crestfallenly. He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out.

"What's wrong?" Misty asked, approaching them.

"I just killed a man," Lotus muttered dejectedly, his voice quivering. "And I have no idea why."

He stumbled weakly toward his granddaughter, wrapping his arms around her. Lilly returned the embrace, allowing his tears to drip onto her shoulders.

"What drives someone to such reckless violence?" the old man sobbed. "Why did I have to do this?"

Ash stared at them in confusion, holding his bandaged pikachu in his arms. He started to speak, but Brock's elbow struck him in the ribs, halting his words. He stared up at Brock indignantly, but seeing the older boy's stern glare, he realized the mistake of asking anything at the moment. He let the old man weep, waiting with uneasy silence. When Lotus at last finished, he straightened up and cleared his throat.

"You'd best go back inside now," he said to the others. "It's getting cold outside."

The others started back toward the cottage. Lotus remained where he was, facing Lupus's prone body in pensive silence. He had never killed anyone before. Even though he had only been defending himself, he still found it hard to accept what he had done as necessary. Might there have been another way? He wondered for a long moment if he could have stopped the fight somehow, though he knew that there would have been nothing he could have said to halt the hunter. With a dejected sigh, he turned his back to his fallen opponent and started back to the cottage.

"Farewell, Lupus," he said. "For whatever reason, the legacy of the hunter is at last ended."

"Not . . ." murmured an angry voice. "Not quite yet."

Stricken with horror, Lotus whirled around to see the body stirring. Lupus's hand clenched over the grass as the hunter struggled to raise his head, glaring at his prey furiously. Slowly, he rose to his knees.

"You haven't won," he growled.

The others stared, overwhelmed by the sight they beheld. With some difficulty, Lupus stood.

"How?" Lotus gasped. "No one could have survived that!"

Lupus took a step forward, but his knees buckled and he nearly fell back to the ground, catching hold of a tree to stop himself. Leaning against the tree for support, the hunter fought off the dizzying pain assaulting his body. Lotus watched the slayer's struggle to remain standing, sighing wearily.

"I am amazed by your determination," the sorcerer commented, "but you're greatly injured. You must realize that you can't win now."

Lupus ignored the old man, the pain slowly fading. Straining a little, he relinquished his hold on the tree, stepping away from his support.

"I have no desire to kill you," Lotus stated. "If you're being paid to do this, it's not worth throwing your life away."

Lupus growled softly, his eyes aflame. "You think I do this for money?" he hissed.

"What then?" Lotus asked. "For the challenge? Do you think this is fun?"

"I take no pleasure in killing!" Lupus roared. "Do not presume to understand me. People like you could never grasp my motives."

Lotus sighed again. "Whatever the reason," he replied, "you can't win."

"Can't I?"

Lupus's hand slipped beneath his cowl. Lotus strained to see the hand-sized device the hunter withdrew. Lupus raised it and the sorcerer saw it clearly. Straw-shaped with a rounded end, he recognized it immediately. He felt a rush of air pass by very close to his head. A tiny needle stuck into the tree behind him.

"You didn't think that I wouldn't be prepared for this eventuality, did you?" Lupus sneered.

Removing another needle from his cloak, Lupus tipped its edge in the toxin stored in his weapon's handle and reloaded it. He lifted it up again.

"It takes effect the instant it enters the blood stream," he explained. "It causes first paralysis, then fever and unconsciousness follow within minutes. After a few hours, the body's vital functions begin to shut down until the heart stops beating. Even if you have the antidote, a paralyzed, unconscious man is easily enough dispatched."

Lotus shifted his feet and prepared to make his move. His hands inching to his pouches, he prepared to cast another spell, but a flash of black and brown cut him off as Dokoto came down on top of him.

He saw the hunter move toward him, retrieving his sword as he passed it. He struggled to push the dog off of him, to reach for his pouches, but Dokoto's teeth found their way into his arm.

Hearing her grandfather's cry of pain, Lilly turned to her Murkrow.

"Help him!" she ordered.

Obeying its trainer's command, the bird leapt from the branch and flew toward the hunter.

Standing over his prey with a cold glare, Lupus raised his weapon. Making a last, desperate attempt, Lotus pressed his thumb and forefinger into the joints of Dokoto's jaw, forcing its mouth open and prying his hand out. Exerting all of his strength, he rolled onto his side, throwing the dog off. Lupus's booted foot connected with his shoulder and then came down on his chest, pinning him. Lupus raised his sword.

"Die."

With a loud caw, Murkrow came down, raking its talons across his face. Lupus stumbled backward, swinging at the attacking pokemon. The bird dodged the strikes, continually clawing back at the hunter's face. Enraged, his fist clenched over his dart shooter, hitting the trigger. Released, the spring shot forward and expelled the dart from the chamber. Lotus's head twisted to the side, watching the stray needle drill its way through the air. His face contorted with horror as he realized its trajectory.

A sudden, horrible silence fell over the forest. Togepi tumbled from Misty's limp fingers as she dropped, the needle embedded deeply in her chest.


	7. Beneath the Mask

7 Beneath The Mask

As she lay face down in the dirt, Misty experienced true terror for the first time. She felt hollow and her limbs refused to obey her commands. Ice coursed through her veins, numbing her sweat-soaked body. She tried to cry out for help, but her lips couldn't form the sounds.

Her mind raced desperately. She couldn't move. So cold. Her head swirled with fear and dizziness. Cold; so cold. She had to escape, had to find help. Cold. Couldn't move.

She hardly felt the hands that grasped her, was only dimly aware of being rolled over. Her contracted pupils focused on Ash's horrified expression. She could recognize the pleading tone in his voice, but his words made no sense to her. She tried to speak, but only managed a few strangled gasps.

As darkness closed its jaws around her head, a pair of green eyes met her vision, filling her heart with dread. Her thoughts strayed into the haze of unconsciousness and she remembered nothing more.

---

Ash saw Misty's eyes fix in horror the moment before the fever took her. He whirled around and stared directly into Lupus's unreadable visage. The hunter paid no attention to him, but glared past him to his friend's limp form. Lupus's predatory gaze never strayed from her face as he stepped forward.

Rage filled Ash's soul, boiling his blood. He knew the hunter's intention. He wanted to take her from him, though he couldn't understand why. He couldn't let him; couldn't allow him to hurt her any more. He raised his clenched fists defensively.

"I won't let you take her!" he shouted in defiance.

Lupus glanced down at him dispassionately. Ash swallowed hard, forcing his fear out of his thoughts, then bolted forward with a hateful cry, his hand drawn back to strike. The hunter's open hand caught him in the chest and shoved him away as easily as discarding a piece of trash. He landed hard on his back, but regained his feet in an instant, prepared to fight to his death.

Dokoto's head sank into his gut, knocking him back to the ground. The dog growled, its teeth glittering in the moonlight. Brock and Lilly rushed to help him, but a blast of the houndour's fiery breath stopped them. The three friends could do nothing but watch the hunter in fear.

Lupus knelt down beside Misty's twitching body and stared at her anguished face. He softly caressed her hair, tears dampening the cloth that covered his face. He gently lifted her from the ground, hugging her close to his chest. Ash's jaw dropped as he realized what he saw. Lupus looked just like a father holding a child.

"Dokoto," the hunter ordered, "catch up with me at home."

Without another word, he sprinted away and disappeared from sight. Dokoto gave Ash a final angry snort before following its master.

Ash stared in disbelief. Misty was gone. That monster had taken her. His rage burst out of him in a scream; rage at his failure, his helplessness, at everything.

"We need to keep calm, boy," Lotus said softly, approaching him. "Shouting isn't going to help us any."

Ash turned his fury on the old man. He leapt forward, grabbing the sorcerer's robes and shaking them fiercely. Lotus, being a patient man, accepted the offense stoically.

"You!" he demanded. "Why didn't you do something? You're supposed to be protecting us, aren't you?"

Angered, Lilly tore him away from her grandfather, turning him around and slapping him. Ash stared back at her blankly, his cheek reddening from the blow.

"You little brat!" she shouted at him. "Don't you ever show my grandfather that kind of disrespect."

Tears began to well up beneath Ash's eyes and a feeble sob escaped him. Still angry, she raised her hand again, but Lotus took hold of it before she struck, shaking his head sternly. Lilly lowered her head, taking a chastened step back. Ash fell to his knees, sobbing. The old man allowed him a moment, then huddled down beside him and placed his hand on the young boy's shoulder.

"When you've quite finished," he said gently, "we ought to start considering how we might rescue your friend."

Ash looked up into Lotus's reassuring smile and felt suddenly calmed. He nodded in agreement and accepted the old man's help to rise. Ash noticed as Togepi started crying and picked it up, softly cooing to it.

"So, what are we going to do?" Brock asked.

Lotus put a hand to his chin in thought. He knew it would be ridiculous to try and follow the hunter, he was too fast. He licked his lips and then wiped them dry. He turned back to Ash.

"Misty wasn't wearing her backpack, was she?" he asked.

"No," Ash replied, confused by the odd question.

The old man nodded and started back toward the cottage. When the others hesitated, he turned back and motioned for them to follow.

"What does Misty's backpack have to do with anything?" Brock asked.

"I may be able to find her," Lotus replied. "Supposing I have the proper components for the spell."

Lilly closed the door behind them.

---

It was different now, Misty realized as she slowly drifted out of the blackness. The numbness had abated, she no longer felt so cold and heavy. She was still a little lightheaded and very tired, but the fever had greatly diminished. As she gradually became more aware of herself, she realized that she was lying on a soft mat, wrapped in a warm blanket, probably made of fur. Not far off, she could hear the crackling of a small fire and smelled a bland odor, food of some kind.

She shifted in her bed and opened her eyes. The vigilant gaze of a houndour stared back at her. With a startled gasp, she shot up, making herself dizzy from the strain, and fell back onto the mat.

Crouched beside the cooking fire, Lupus looked at her over his shoulder. Misty noticed a tinge of concern in his forest-colored eyes. He turned back and continued to stir the contents of his small pot. The dog walked over to its master and made a quiet whining sound.

"Yes, Dokoto," Lupus replied. "I know, I know. How are you feeling?"

It wasn't until he swiveled around to face her that Misty realized the question was directed at her.

"Me?"

Lupus nodded. He reached out and scratched Dokoto's ears and then stood up, slowly approaching her. Sitting back down beside her, he gently touched her forehead with the back of her hand.

"Your fever seems to have broken," he commented. "You've been unconscious for almost three hours. How do you feel? Hot? Cold?"

Misty shook her head weakly. "Why am I here?" she asked.

"You were hit with one of my darts," Lupus explained. "I had to remove it and the poison needed to be sucked out."

Looking down, Misty saw a spot of blood on the floor and then noticed the bandages that wrapped around her chest. A flush of red came to her cheeks and Lupus saw it.

"Forgive me if that makes you uncomfortable," he apologized, but his voice seemed to lack sympathy. "The dosage of poison on the needle was far too much for a child to handle. If I hadn't removed some of it from your body, even the antidote wouldn't have been able to save you. For a time, I had thought I was too late. I'm glad you survived."

Dokoto, who'd been watching the pot, grunted at its companion. Lupus returned to the fire pit and removed the crucible from it. Misty watched him as he sat there waiting for the pot to cool, puzzled by his change in behavior. He seemed so different now. Before, when he had attacked Lotus, he'd seemed almost like a beast; savage and heartless. Now, however, he was being so kind to her. It reminded her of when she had fallen ill once when she was younger and her father had stayed home to watch over her.

It surprised her when she realized she was comparing this man to her father. This was Lupus, the hunter. He was a cold-blooded murderer, wasn't he? But, if that was so, then why did she feel safe being with him? Who was he?

Lupus poured some of the thick soup from the pot into a clay bowl and carried it over to her.

"Eat this," he said, offering the bowl and a wooden spoon. "It hasn't much flavor, but it's warm and it'll make you feel better."

Misty tried to sit up, but it made her head swirl to move that much. She laid back and shook her head helplessly. Shifting the bowl to one hand, Lupus gently slid his arm beneath her and lifted her up, carefully supporting her head with his shoulder. Taking the spoon in his free hand, he scooped up some of the soup and fed it to her. Misty wasn't truly hungry, but she accepted the food anyway. With Lupus's help, she emptied the bowl, after which he laid her back down and tucked the blanket back over her.

"Why did you bring me here?" she asked.

"It was not my intent to harm a child," he replied. "The sorcerer was my only prey, I don't kill innocent people."

Lupus rose to his feet and went back to the fire pit. With a despondent sigh, he sat down with his back to her, petting his dog. Misty stared at him, confused. Lupus loosened his collar, lifting the crucible to his mouth and eating the rest of the soup with a few gulps. Wiping his mouth dry, he set the pot back down and straightened out his collar again. For a long moment, he sat in silence and Misty wondered what thoughts gnawed at his mind.

"Actually," Lupus said at length, "that's only half true. In truth, I brought you here because you resemble my daughter."

"Morgan?" Misty asked.

Lupus gave her a sad, backward glance and nodded forlornly. Then Misty realized the truth.

"She's dead, isn't she?"

Lupus turned away from her and, for a moment, he kept silent. Then, to her surprise, she heard him sob. When he spoke, his voice sounded broken and disconsolate, the first real hint of emotion she had heard from him.

"She was murdered by a sorcerer before my own eyes when she was only seven. That monster's foul magic had twisted her body, so that every movement caused her to cry out with pain. I could only have recognized her because of her eyes, so broken was her form." He turned back to Misty, holding out his deformed hands helplessly. "While I held her in my arms, I felt her soul leave her body. I could do nothing for her; nothing but watch as she died in agony.

"There was no reason for her to die like that. The sorcerer didn't even offer any explanation for his actions, he just attacked her. Then he killed Anna, my wife. At his command she burst into flames before I could so much as rise from my seat. I tried to fight him, but I had nothing to defend myself with and he did not need to so much as raise a finger to stop me. After his heartless brutality to my family, he left me, badly injured but still alive. It all happened so quickly. In a few minutes, everything I had was taken from me. To this day, I still do not know why it happened."

Misty listened in quiet shock. His voice held such a deep sorrow, it seemed unbelievable that he could be lying about it, but it what he was saying simply wasn't possible. The story couldn't be true. Lotus would never have done such a thing. She couldn't imagine that anyone could be so cruel.

"The sorcerer's wouldn't do that," she protested meekly, remembering what Lilly had told her. "It would be too dangerous to them."

Lupus nodded. "Yes," he agreed, his voice finding strength again. "They are much more careful now. It's been almost five hundred years since I last found prey."

Misty gasped. "No way."

Lupus stared at her for a moment. "Do you think that I would desire to live with nothing but vengeance as my purpose?" he asked. "This life is horrible. To be separated from your family, friends, everything. If it were within my power, I'd have ended it long ago, but I can't die. I've witnessed two millennia pass. I've seen man's history with my own eyes, but while the evolution of humanity has been glorious, my own life has been torment; an endless, miserable existence."

"But how?" Misty asked. "How could you live that long?"

Lupus looked down at his hands again. "I'd always thought that these hands were strong, that I could protect my family with them. My dear wife, Anna and my precious, precious Morgan; I was not strong enough to save them, but I still had strength enough to wield a sword. I would go after their murderer and kill him; make him suffer for the lives he stole." Lupus paused. "My god, how naïve I was."

"Maybe my rage blinded me, or perhaps I simply wanted to die. In either case, I foolishly challenged an entire guild at once. By the time only the guild's leader remained, I had exhausted myself. I barely had the strength to stand, much less win in combat, but in my stupidity I attacked him anyway. There was no contest; he didn't even need to strain himself to tear me apart.

"I begged him to kill me, to let me join my family in death, but he would not. 'It couldn't be that easy,' he told me. I first would have to pay for the death of his guild. He cursed me; cursed me to live forever, but not as a human. No, he thought I didn't deserve to be human, but neither could I be an animal, since animals only kill for food or defense. So, on and on I live, neither man nor animal, but some misshapen monster halfway in between."

Misty's eyes widened in shock. It was too horrible to believe, but she believed it.

"Show me," she whispered.

Lupus started at the request. Why would she want to see such a hideous thing? What good would it do her? But looking into the young girl's eyes, those innocent, beautiful eyes, he could not refuse her. Turning his back to her, he loosened his collar, pulling it aside. Hands trembling, he took hold of the bandages around his head and slowly unwound them.

The wrapping dropped to the ground and, when Lupus turned around, Misty's jaw followed. His head was coated in black and brown fur, with a white, skull-shaped pattern above his eyes. His jaws and nose were elongated into a canine mussel. His ears, which have appeared simply deformed, weren't even human, but a dog's ears. She stared, mouth agape, at the transmuted face.

"You . . ." she stuttered, "you look just like . . . like . . ."

"Like Dokoto," Lupus finished. "Yes, I know. That's why I stay with them. I'm not sure if it's a side effect of the curse, or if it's simply my appearance, but houndour are empathetic toward me. People shunned me after I'd been given this form, drove me away. They would not have a monster in their midst. But, where humans would no longer have me, these dogs accepted me. I've been a part of this pack for many generations. They are the only friends I have and the closest I will ever get to having a family again."

Lupus knelt down scratched Dokoto's ears. The dog came forward playfully, knocking him down and teasingly chewing on his ear. Misty watched the two of them mock-wrestle in sport until Lupus finally tired and ordered his companion off. Sitting up, he rubbed his forehead and then turned back to Misty.

"You should try to get some sleep now," he said. "You'll shake off the fever faster if you do."

So caught up in the story, Misty had forgotten how tired she was until Lupus mentioned sleep. After hearing the tale, she didn't fear him anymore. In the back of her mind, she still understood that Lupus would try to kill Lotus again, but perhaps she could prevent it. If she really did resemble his daughter, maybe she could use that to soften his heart.

Tomorrow, she promised herself. She was too tired then to do any good talking. She lay back down on the mat and pulled the blanket over her. Before she drifted back into the bliss of slumber, she saw Lupus pick up the bandages that he covered himself with.

"Don't," she said. "Don't hide your face from me."

With a contented smile, Misty closed her eyes. Lupus stared at her, the cloth strips still hanging in his hand. It was probably the fever, Lupus decided. He sat back down and raised the cloth to his face again, but stopped. She didn't want him to cover himself. Could it possibly be that she accepted his appearance?

For the first time since he had lost his family, he smiled, drawing up joy that had long hidden itself within his heart. It had been so long since he had felt this way, that he was more than just a beast. He almost felt . . .

He shut his eyes tight in sudden anger as he realized what he had gotten himself into. The girl had a family of her own and friends, people who loved her. He couldn't keep her with him forever, and when she ultimately left, he would be lonelier than before. It would be like loosing his daughter again, but worse. She would still be alive, he would still be able to see her, watch her, but never be a part of her world. And when the slow decay of time finally took her from him entirely, he would once again be the hunter.

But . . .

_'Oh, God,' _he cried silently. _'I don't care if it's my fate to suffer like this forever, but, for now, let me be human for her.'_

---

"Hmm . . ."

Ash groaned silently. "Hmm" was all Lotus had said for the last half-hour. Using a strand of Misty's hair that he had found on a comb in her backpack, the old man had created a magical eye and sent it off to find her. Looking into the mirror, they could see everything that it saw. It had taken the eye over an hour to find her and once there, it waited and watched.

Brock and Lilly had gone to bed after watching Misty sleeping in Lupus's cave for an hour. Lilly had gone to her own room, while Brock was snoring in one of the guest beds behind them. Only Ash remained awake with Lotus. Once Misty had woken up, Lotus had said "Hmm" and had not stopped saying it.

"Hmm . . ." he repeated again, just as deep in thought as the first time.

"What?" Ash asked, his patience finally reaching its limit. "You keep 'hmm'ing. What's going on?"

"Your friend is safe," Lotus stated absently. "I wish I could have heard what they were saying. Had I known she wasn't in any danger, I would have taken the time to give the spell clairaudience as well. Hmm . . ."

Ash tugged at his cap in frustration. "What do you mean she's safe? She's with that . . . that dog-thing."

"Morgan," Lotus said, looking Ash in the eye.

"What?"

"That's the key," Lotus explained. "Lupus called her Morgan when he first saw her, remember?"

Ash thought back. He did remember hearing that, but what did that mean?

"Misty must remind him of someone he knows, or knew," the sorcerer continued earnestly. "That's why he did this. You can relax, boy. He won't hurt her and I'm quite certain he won't let anyone or anything else hurt her either. Believe me, she's much safer in his hands than you are in mine."

Ash sat down on the other bed as the old man turned back to the mirror, waving the image away. Lotus stroked his chin in thought, absently plucking out his whiskers and flicking them away.

"What was that _thing_?" Ash asked.

"'That thing,' as you called it, used to be human," Lotus explained. The next sentenced slithered out of his mouth like a serpent. "I recognize that spell, oh, yes, I do. That was a Bestial Curse. It is one of the darkest of the dark magics, the ultimate method of exacting vengeance on a person. Its effects are so torturous that the council forbade its use. Whoever was foolish enough to do this has worsened the situation a hundred times."

"Then we've got to get Misty back, fast," Ash insisted.

"Oh, no," Lotus replied. "I didn't mean for her. I meant for the conclave. We'll get to her in time, but right now, we have bigger things to worry about."

Lotus went to his nightstand and retrieved a pitcher of water, pouring it into a small dish. Taking a few bottles from the top shelf of his closet, he began to mix the contents into the water.

"What do you mean 'bigger things'?" Ash demanded, upset at Lotus's assessment of the situation. "We've got to do something. We can't just leave her with that monster." He clenched his teeth in anger, seeing that the old man was ignoring him. "Are you listening to me? Hey! What could be more important that saving Misty?"

Ash put his hand on Lotus's shoulder, disrupting his concentration. Lotus whirled on him furiously, pointing his wrinkled finger at the boy's forehead.

"Keeping Cerebral out of the hands of Jin'ei, for one," he hissed, venomously articulating each syllable. "Ultimately stopping Jin'ei for another. You don't seem to realize how thin the wire is that we're walking on, _child_." The tone in his voice when he said "child" made Ash cringe. "If we stray from the course, even a little, we will fall to our doom and quite possibly the doom of society as we know it. Now, my patience has been worn very thin, so unless you want me to show you some magic that will make everything else you've seen so far look like child's play, I suggest you sit down keep your mouth shut."

Ash fell back onto the bed, terrified by Lotus's anger. Exerting all his willpower kept him from crying, but his whole body trembled from fright. Injured as it was, Pikachu came between the old man and its trainer, growling at him. After a moment, Lotus took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"I'm sorry," Ash squeaked.

"No, it's alright," the sorcerer replied. "I shouldn't have lost my temper like that. But you must understand something. Jin'ei is far more than a crazed fashion designer and he certainly doesn't want Cerebral's powers to help him make fancy clothes. Jin'ei was cast out because he couldn't be satisfied with anything. He wanted to be in the conclave because he would hold power over people. Had we let him stay, he would have taken over the order, but even that wouldn't be enough. That's what Jin'ei is. He gains pleasure by controlling other people. If he gains Cerebral, he will be so powerful that he would be able to overpower the will of any man with but the mere desire. He could command a person to walk barefoot over white-hot coals and he would do it, knowing the pain it would cause, but being powerless to resist him. And with Jin'ei's twisted sense of humor, I've no doubt he would do that and much worse."

Lotus turned back to the spell he was preparing. Ash slid off the bed and watched. The old man mixed several different powders into the water, continually stirring them until they dissolved completely.

"Were . . ." Ash began, finally finding the courage to speak. "Were you serious when . . . when you said child's play?"

"It wasn't an empty threat, if that's what you're asking," Lotus replied. "Laws are useless unless you possess the power to enforce them. If anyone possessed more power than the law, then we would have chaos. Therefore, the council members must be the most powerful of all. That's why Jin'ei didn't attack us himself, he knows it would be foolish.

"But I'm getting absent-minded in my old age. My mind isn't as sharp as it used to be. Jin'ei, however, is still young, and has always had a keen mind. I may have the advantage of power, but Jin'ei will not be the first one to make a mistake. That's why we must deal with Jin'ei first."

Ash nodded. Lotus went back to his mirror. Dipping his fingers in the water, he whispered the spell and then spread the water over the mirror. For a moment, there was nothing, then it began to emanate a soft green light. When the light dimmed, the image of a dark-haired man could be seen. The desk he sat at was cluttered with papers and documents and his stress was evident on his face.

"Just like him to be working so late," Lotus murmured, then, in a clear voice, he said, "Aldaris."

The man looked up from his desk. "Lotus? What is it?"

"You must call a meeting of the conclave," Lotus said. "We must meet by tomorrow."

"That's very short notice," Aldaris replied, going back to his work. "I'm not sure everyone would have time to get here."

"They'll make time," Lotus insisted. "We're in a desperate situation. It's Jin'ei."

Aldaris didn't even glance away from his papers. "I was under the impression that we had taken care of that problem."

"He's after Cerebral."

The lead from Aldaris's pencil snapped from the sudden pressure. A shadow of dread fell across his face. "But how? It was hidden. There were no records."

"He found it," Lotus stated. "For the moment, it has been taken beyond his grasp, but unless we put a stop to this now, he will have it."

Aldaris pushed back his chair and stood up. "I'll call the meeting immediately."

He started to walk away, but Lotus stopped him.

"One more thing," the older man added. "I request that someone be allowed to sit in on the meeting. He's a young boy who's unfortunately become hopelessly entangled in the mess."

Aldaris looked stricken. "I can't allow that. The risk is too great."

"Please," Lotus pressed, "it's vital that he be there."

Aldaris kept silent, considering the request with a grim expression. After a moment, he stood.

"If you're sure that it's necessary," he conceded. "Just remember the consequences of your decision. You're responsible to cover the risks."

"I'm well aware of the consequences," Lotus said. "I've been on the council longer than you have."

"True," Aldaris replied, "but you're old and senile."

Lotus smiled. "And you're young and hot-headed."

"Good night, Lotus. I'll take care of everything."

"Thank you."

Lotus touched the mirror and the image disappeared, returning again to its reflective glass. Running his fingers through his hair, the old man let out a deep sigh. He turned to Ash with an empty smile.

"I'm going to be at the meeting?" Ash asked, wide-eyed.

"You are the possessor of Cerebral," Lotus said. "Of course you're going to be there. Now, to bed, it's late."

Removing his jacket, socks and shoes, Ash climbed into the empty bed. He sat there a moment, thinking about all that had happened that day. Despite what Lotus had said, concern over Misty still gnawed at his mind. How would they get her back? If Lupus really had connected her with someone he knew, he might not let her go.

"Is something wrong?" Lotus asked.

Ash looked up at him with a hopeless expression. "I really don't think I'll be able to get any sleep tonight," he replied. "Not with everything that's happened."

"I see," the old man said, stepping up beside the bed. "Well, we can't have that, can we?"

Reaching into one of the bags on his belt, the sorcerer withdrew a pinch of dust. Ash looked up at it as Lotus held the powder over his head and let it fall. Suddenly, fatigue overwhelmed him. He fell back into Lotus's waiting arm, soundly asleep. The old man gently laid him back into the bed and covered him with the sheets.

"Sleep well, my boy," he whispered. "It is likely that tomorrow will be the longest day of your life."


	8. Without A Name

8 Without A Name

Ash bolted upright in the bed, instantly awakened by the sound of someone knocking against its head. Lotus stood over him, the urgency clearly expressed on his face.

"You need to wake up," the old man said. "You have just enough time to dress yourself and eat and then we need to be going."

Ash rolled out of bed and slipped on a clean pair of socks, then his shoes and jacket. Following Lotus from the bedroom, Ash noticed that the sun was already up.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"It's almost noon," Lotus replied. "You were up late, so I decided I would let you sleep as long as I could. You've ten minutes and Lilly's already prepared breakfast."

In the dining room, Ash took a seat at the table and Lilly gave him a bowl of oatmeal. While he waited for it to cool, he poured some syrup into the bowl to give a little flavor to the insipid food and stirred it. As he ate, he watched Lotus preparing his spell with curiosity.

The old man quickly dropped a few odd ingredients into his mixing bowl and poured in just enough water to cover the bottom of it. Lifting the bowl, he churned the mixture a bit and then grabbed a small jar filled with a thick, brown fluid. The liquid oozed from the jar like molasses into the bowl, absorbing the water on contact. Lotus kneaded it with his fingers until it became a brown, clay-like mass and then rolled it all into a large ball.

"Are we ready?" Lotus asked, rising to his feet.

Dropping his bowl into the wash basin, Ash nodded his head and the others agreed.

"Good. Now, I need to be in contact with whatever's coming with me, so each of you put a hand on my shoulder."

Once the others had done so, Lotus ripped a piece off of his ball and swallowed it, shuddering from its bitter taste. Forcing all distractions out of his mind, Lotus concentrated on his destination.

A sudden, lightheadedness came over Ash; a strange sensation of being pulled out of his body. He heard an odd popping sound and his sight plunged into blackness. His senses ceased, his form became intangible as vapor and his thoughts froze. For a single instant, he was nothing. Then he saw light somewhere far in the distance, an exit to the tunnel. He felt himself being drawn toward that light and as he neared it, his mind began to remember itself, pulling his incorporeal shape back together. A few seconds after it started, the sensation ended.

Ash blinked, then looked around him. He stood in a small room furnished with only a work desk, an office of some kind. A strange chill shot down his spine as the energies of the spell dissipated, clearing his mind.

"Even with the most powerful magic in the world," he heard Lotus groan, "potions still taste bitter."

"Where are we?" Brock asked.

"One of our meeting places," Lotus explained, starting toward the door.

The others followed him out. The building they were in was a large store, its shelves lined various products. The sign on the front door window had been turned so that the side that read "closed" was facing outside and the store was completely empty, except for a red-headed clerk who was sweeping the aisles. Seeing the rest of them, he put his broom aside, dusted off his apron and approached them.

"Master Lotus," he said with a nod. "We've been waiting for you. Please follow me."

The clerk started for the storage room door, but stopped when he heard the sound of a knock at the door. Quickly, the young man went to the door and opened it, prepared to explain that the store was closed.

"Miss Amelia!" he started. "Please, come in."

A tall, dark-haired woman in her mid-twenties slipped into the store, closing the door as she did. Following nervously behind her, a small toddler clung ardently to the left leg of her pants with one hand and hugged a clefairy doll in the other. The young boy's silvery-gray hair shimmered in the light and his yellow-green eyes darted about alertly.

Ash watched the child curiously. The boy seemed oddly familiar to him, but he couldn't understand why. Something about the face he could almost remember seeing somewhere before, but whatever it was slithered out of his hands as his mind began to close in on it.

"I'm sorry," Amelia said. "I was called so late last night that I couldn't find anyone to baby-sit for Jeremy. Am I late?"

"The council hasn't begun yet," the clerk explained, "but I believe everyone who can come is already here."

Amelia followed the clerk to the back of the store, noticing the others.

"Lotus," she greeted pleasantly. "I see you've brought your granddaughter with you. And some others."

Lotus chuckled at Amelia's questioning expression. Putting his hand on Ash's shoulder, he explained, "This boy is the reason I called the meeting."

Amelia nodded, but there seemed to be uneasiness in her expression. "I was told that this meeting was about Jin'ei."

Lotus nodded gravely. "I'm afraid so."

Amelia's face paled slightly. "What do you think is going to happen?"

"I don't know," Lotus replied, his tone gentle. "I really don't know. It's up to the council to decide, but, based upon the severity of his crime, I doubt that there will be any future for Jin'ei."

Ash noticed a glint of sadness in Amelia's eyes, almost as if she felt pity for the madman about to be condemned. Amelia sighed heavily, then turned to Lilly and Brock.

"Would you mind watching Jeremy for me while I'm in the meeting?" she asked.

"We'd be glad to," Brock replied. Kneeling down to the toddler's eye-level, he asked, "Would you like that, Jeremy?"

Jeremy shied away from him. Amelia gave him an encouraging nudge and he let go of her clothes sticking his thumb in his mouth and staring at the floor.

"Well," Brock prompted, "would you like to stay with us and have some fun?"

Jeremy pulled his thumb out of his mouth, looked at his hand for a moment and then held it out.

"I four years old," he said, holding up the appropriate number of fingers.

"Are you?" Lilly asked, amused by his cute remark.

Jeremy counted his fingers. "Yeah, four. I four years old."

"Come," the clerk urged, cutting off the building laughter. "We shouldn't delay the conclave any further."

Following the young man, the others descended the stairs into the basement storage room. Dimly lit and cluttered with sale items, the storage room seemed smaller than it really was.

"This way," the clerk said.

It was at that moment that Ash noticed the plain, wooden doorway at the back of the room. Even looking directly at it, the door was hard to notice, not because it was hidden, but because he felt compelled to ignore it. Only once the clerk opened the door did his mind finally accept it as being there.

The comfortably furnished antechamber was more brightly lit than the previous room. Traced with ancient symbols, the council chamber entrance radiated with defensive magic strongly enough that even Ash could feel its power.

"The Conclave awaits, masters," the clerk announced. "The rest of you will wait in here with me."

Before entering the chamber, Lotus pulled Ash to the side. Kneeling down to eye level, he put his hands firmly on the boy's shoulder. The urgency of his expression startled Ash into silence.

"Listen carefully," he said, his tone more serious than Ash had ever heard before. "You are about to be present in the council with every member of the Conclave. This is a privilege that few people even within the order have been granted. Aldaris is a good man, but he is also very strict. Mind your manners, don't speak unless you are asked and show them the utmost respect. If Aldaris has any reason to believe that you cannot be trusted with this responsibility . . ."

Lotus let the sentence hang, allowing Ash to fill in the blanks on his own. The young boy nodded in understanding, a hint of terror in his widely opened eyes.

"Good. Let's get to business then."

---

Dokoto sat protectively beside her bed when Misty awoke. Though the light seeping through the ivy vines seemed only like morning, it was about midday and the young girl felt groggy from oversleeping. She sat up and stretched her arms, yawning as she scratched the dog behind the ears. Dokoto grunted with pleasure, leaning his head on her lap. Continuing to scratch, Misty looked around the cave.

"So, where's your master?" she asked.

Dokoto barked softly and started panting. Misty smiled, patted the dog on the head and then pulled the blankets aside, climbing out of bed. Dokoto wandered to the other side of the cave and began pawing at the dirt. The young girl walked slowly toward the dog, her legs still a little unsteady. A few strips of dried meat rested on the floor along with a bowl of berries. Next to it, a message was scribbled onto the rock with a purple pulp, probably from the same berries in the bowl. She found it difficult to read the terrible, scrawling handwriting, but after a few moments, she pieced it together. Lupus had gone out hunting and left some food for her.

With a slight grin, she picked up a piece of meat. It reminded her of eating a piece of beef jerky as she tore the bite away, though its taste was somewhat drier. She then plucked a berry from the bowl and put it in her mouth. It was a little sour, but at least, she told herself, it had more flavor than the meat. She continued to eat her breakfast, tossing a piece of the meat to Dokoto.

The dog snapped it up before it hit the ground, chewing noisily for a moment. Swallowing, the dog started panting, its tongue flopping happily out of its mouth. Suddenly, the dog's ears perked up at the sound of the vines being pushed aside. Misty turned to greet Lupus, but gasped when she saw who entered.

"Lupus!" Jin'ei shouted. "Are you here?"

The esper's eyes widened when he noticed Misty. For a moment, the two stared at each other in shock.

"What are you doing here?" they both demanded.

Jin'ei regained his composure first. "That's simple enough," he replied, stroking his ear. "I've come to ask the hunter if he's completed his job yet."

"You hired him?" Misty asked.

"No," Jin'ei chuckled. "Lupus is not under my payroll, he's doing the job for free. All I did was point out the location of a certain sorcerer who lived nearby. Now, it's your turn. Why are you here?"

Misty kept silent in defiance, backing away from him. Dokoto stepped forward and growled at the intruder. Jin'ei looked down at the dog, removing his glasses, and stared into its eyes. The dog suddenly shied away, tucking its tail between its legs and whining in fear.

"Why are you here?" Jin'ei demanded again, clipping his glasses back into place. When Misty refused to speak, he took a step toward her. "Do you think your silence will change anything? I can sense that Cerebral is not in your possession, so I know one of your friends has it."

With a movement that was faster than Misty could see, Jin'ei stood next to her in an instant. Surprised, she stumbled backward and fell to the ground.

"I always get what I want," Jin'ei hissed. "I don't enjoy killing, but Cerebral will be mine and for that, one of your friends must die." He leaned down close to her face. "You _don't_ have to die, however. If you stay out of my way, I'll have no reason to hurt you. If, on the other hand, you choose to interfere, I will make sure that you regret it."

Reaching out quickly, he plucked a strand of hair from Misty's head. Drawing his rapier, he held the hair up for her to see. Slowly, he brought his saber down on the strand, cleanly splitting it. Replacing the blade, he let Misty stare in horror for a moment, smiling cruelly, pleased by her reaction.

"Do you understand me?"

Misty glared at the madman obstinately. Swishing his cape back with dramatic bravado, Jin'ei rose to his full stature and stared back at her with an amused half-smile. Tauntingly, he flicked his hair back and turned to face Lupus as he entered, a startled gasp escaping him at the sight of the hunter's transmuted face.

A stantler hanging limply over his shoulder, Lupus strolled into the cave, passing the shocked Jin'ei and dropping the kill on the ground. Drawing a hunting knife from the sheath in his boot, he looked up at the esper coldly.

"What are you looking at?" he growled.

"Y-you startled me," Jin'ei stuttered.

With a derisive snort, Lupus replied, "I do that."

Kneeling down beside the fire pit, the hunter laid some kindling and struck a flint against his knife, lighting the tinder.

"Well?" Lupus demanded irritably. "What do you want?"

Jin'ei clenched his teeth, exerting all his willpower to hold back his anger. "I've come for a progress report."

Lupus stoked the fire, putting a bit more wood on it, and then rose to his feet. Jin'ei leaned back away from the hunter as he stared him down.

"I don't work for you," the hunter tersely reminded him. "I will kill the sorcerer, but I'll do it at my convenience, not yours." He turned to Misty. "Did he hurt you?"

Misty glared at Jin'ei, who returned the expression with equal ferocity, each testing the other's resolve. Misty thought for a moment to say yes, to let Lupus unleash his blade on the esper and be done with him, but Jin'ei's stare promised her death if she tried. No, not death. As unimaginable as it was, she felt death would desirable to the fate Jin'ei had in mind. But still . . .

No, she realized, she couldn't. She couldn't use Lupus like that; it would only hurt him more in the end.

"No," Misty answered, her voice cold as ice. "No, he didn't."

"Nor do I see a reason why I should have to," the esper added calmly, his words an evident threat. "I've nothing against her."

Lupus turned away from the psychic, stooping over his kill and splitting its belly. He carved a large piece of flesh from the animal's ribs and began shearing the skin off. Pausing for a moment, he glared at Jin'ei.

"Why are you still here?" he snarled.

Jin'ei hopped back defensively.

"Oh my, look at the time," he stuttered nervously. "I really must be going now."

Jin'ei disappeared instantly. With a satisfied grunt, Lupus cut the last bit of hide from the meat and skewered it on the spit. Placing it over the pit, Lupus began to cook it. He looked back at Dokoto.

"Take the rest out to the others," he ordered.

Gripping the deer's neck in its jaws, Dokoto dragged the carcass out of the cave. Lupus continued to turn the spit, letting out a lazy yawn and popping his neck. With a relieved sigh, Misty rose to her feet and stepped next to the hunter.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Lupus," he replied.

"No," Misty clarified, "I mean your real name. Or _is_ Lupus your real name."

Lupus chuckled. "No. No, it isn't, it's . . ." he hesitated, staring absently at the wall, his voice shaky. "My name . . . my name is . . . I-I don't remember. It's been so long since I've thought about it."

Lupus sat down, probing his memory for the name of the person he had once been. He couldn't recall. It was as if it had been the life of someone else, someone he had known only briefly. As he continued to search his memories, he realized that he couldn't remember anything from his other life. Except for his wife and daughter, everything was gone. He was the hunter now, a beast who existed only to avenge the memory of two people who had once been cared for, and nothing more. Everything else had become unimportant.

Misty watched Lupus sadly. How much did it hurt? She couldn't fathom the level of pain that he must have felt. Sympathetically, she took hold of his hand.

"If you want, I can cook it," she offered.

"Do you know how?"

Misty scoffed. "My dad's taken me camping plenty of times. I know how to turn a spit."

Lupus let the young girl take over for him. "Thank you," he said. "I need to think for a bit."

---

Lupus trudged out of the cave into the daylight. Shielding his eyes from the sun, he stared up at the sky. The sky, the clouds, the forest; all had remained unchanged throughout the centuries, and until now, so had he. But now, for the first time, he began to question himself.

Did he really want this?

Turning away from his cave, he walked to the small clearing where the memorial of his family that he had built centuries ago rested; a stone marker encircled by a ring of red roses. No bodies lay beneath the soil of the marker. The churchyard where he buried his family had been torn up and built over ages ago. There had been no remains of the bodies by that time anyway, so he had set up that chunk of rock and planted his wife's favorite flowers. The roses grew back every spring, but his daughter's doll, which had once rested on the slab, had long since been lost to the elements and to natural decay.

Lupus slowly made his way to it, each step dragging on, weighted down by his heavy thoughts, until he kneeled down before it. The stone had crumbled by now, standing at only a quarter of its original size, the pebbles and dust that it had now become resting in the grass beside what remained. Laying his hand on the slab, it crumbled further under his touch. He drew back his hand quickly.

Even the stone had decayed. As he stared brokenly at the marker, he began to comprehend how long he had gone on. Even the stone had decayed! How he wished that decay would take him as well, wished that his body would rot away, his flesh devoured by worms and maggots.

But he would not. His fur would not shed with the proper seasons, nor would his skin blister and peel away when burnt. When cut, his wound would seal quickly, each bit pulling itself back to the place it had fallen from. His wounds left no scars, his broken bones would not mend crooked, no disease or poison could ever damage him. His body was the same body it had been when he first received it, down to every last cell.

How many people would think eternal life a gift? He was the very thing that countless men throughout the ages had desired. Would they still want it if they knew? What a sick, unnatural thing he was, as dead inside as he was alive outside.

Rage boiled within him, an uncontrollable hatred of the shell that kept him trapped in the mortal world. His rage broke into madness as he sank his own teeth viciously into his wrist, delighting in the feel of the blood rushing down his arm. Jerking his head back, he tore the flesh from the bone, stripping clear to the elbow. Without second thought, he bit at his knee, cracking bones and tearing tendons as he shook it viciously in his jaws.

The pain, agonizing as it was, filled him with a sick pleasure. A disgusted, euphoric, smile corrupted his face as he drew his sword and drove it into his gut, dragging it slowly across. Acid from his stomach burned inside him and he reveled in the heat of it. Drawing back his sword, he slit open his throat, breathing his blood into his lungs, then began stabbing his chest repeatedly, the blade unable to find his heart because of his trembling body.

To his dread, he glanced down and saw the skin of his arm beginning to heal; fuel on the fire. Crying out defiantly, he hacked at it several times, his blade cutting roughly through flesh, muscle and bone until the limb was at last severed. Nothing. His arm hung where it was, as if being held in place by some invisible threads while his flesh continued to role back into place. Blood oozed profusely from the cut, but even as it was beginning to drip away, it bubbled up and began flowing back into his arm. He dropped his sword, desperately tugging at his severed limb, even tearing at it with his fangs.

Infuriated by his limb's stubborn refusal to come off, he turned and rushed to the edge of the clearing. He bashed his head against a tree, its splinters digging into his face. Unfazed, he smashed his head again and again, beating it more furiously each time, until his own skull cracked open. Leaning back away from the tree, a horrendous grin still twisting his face, he pressed his hands against the wound, feeling the blood oozing out. As consciousness slowly drifted away from him, he glared down at his crimson drenched hand, rejoicing in the pleasure of the pain. In that last moment before his sight faded away, he grasped hold of his sanity once again, realizing the horror of his own actions. With a sickened groan, he fell forward against the tree, tears flowing freely from his eyes. A merciful blackness took him and he knew nothing more.


	9. The Conclave

9 The Conclave

The huge marble table that filled the center of the room seated eighteen people. The cushioned chairs that surrounded it were all filled, save two, which Ash and Lotus took. Ash glanced nervously around the eerily silent room. Each of the other sixteen people in the room stared back at him, some directly, others sideways. Of the people assembled, seven of them were women. Ash recognized Aldaris from the night before, but now, dressed in his sorcerer's robes, he seemed much more commanding than the overworked, unorganized bookkeeper he remembered. Despite himself, he began to tremble slightly under the careful scrutiny of his hosts. He glanced at Pikachu quickly, hoping to draw some confidence from his companion.

After a long moment, Lotus cleared his throat, prompting the council to begin. Slowly, Aldaris rose to his feet.

"The meeting of the conclave will now commence," he announced, his powerful diction filling the air with an aura of formality. "The council will excuse the absence of Judith Fawson, who has fallen ill and could not be present. The council also will acknowledge the attendance of Ash Ketchum, who has been invited by Lotus to speak on the matter at hand. Before we begin, is there any other business we should discuss first?" After a brief pause, Aldaris continued, "Very well then. Mikhail will brief you."

A stout man with dark hair rose. His penetrating gaze moved around the room, taking note of everything before he began. His entire face seemed to carry the weight of the world as he drew in a heavy breath of air.

"We are here," he began in a deep, resonating voice, "to discuss an issue which we had believed to have already been resolved. In light of new evidence, however, we must readdress this problem and come to a more complete solution, as well as solve another dilemma that now faces us. Ash Ketchum," he paused, allowing Ash to stand, "present Cerebral to the conclave."

Swallowing the lump in his throat, he withdrew the medallion, holding it out in the light for the others to see. Mikhail motioned toward the table with his head and the boy set it down, quickly taking his seat again. There was a moment of nervous whispering among the council. One of the councilmen, a tall, red-haired man, rose and leaned over the medallion.

"Is this really the Sentient?" he asked in a slightly nasal voice.

Curiously, he reached out toward Cerebral. As his hand began to close over the artifact, a flash of electricity leapt from it, followed by an echoing crackle. The startled man jerked his hand back with a cry of pain and surprise. Shaking his numbed hand, he sat back down.

"Cerebral has chosen this boy as its possessor," Lotus stated, leaning toward the other in an intimidating manner. "So long as he is alive, the medallion will not allow any other person to take it. You all must see the danger this presents to him."

"You are speaking out of turn," Aldaris interrupted. "You will have your opportunity to speak, but only after you have been recognized."

Lotus leaned back quickly. A reverent silence fell over the room. Seeing he was no longer the center of attention, Ash felt his nervousness ease slightly. All around him, the council members stared in fear and shock at the tiny medallion sitting on the table.

"Boy," Mikhail demanded, breaking the silence and startling Ash for a moment, "explain to the Conclave how you came to possess this artifact and everything that has transpired since then. Be as precise as possible."

Once again, all eyes turned to Ash. His mouth went dry and his thoughts fell into disarray. Lotus put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, calming him a bit. Legs quivering, Ash stood up and began to recount the events, beginning with the morning he and his friends had started for Blackthorn City. Several times during the story the members of the Conclave stopped him to ask questions, which he answered as best as he was able. Once he had finished,Aldaris and Mikhail talked quietly among each other for a moment.

Mikhail turned to Ash. "The conclave thanks you for your testimony. You may be seated."

Gratefully, the young boy took his seat, letting out a relieved sigh. Lotus patted him on the back and complimented him with an approving nod. Mikhail rubbed his temples sullenly, groaning quietly.

"Lotus," he asked, "can it be confirmed that the man who attacked this boy was indeed Artemis Jin'ei?"

Lotus nodded gravely. "I can assure you that it was Jin'ei. With his white hair and his fancy clothes and his unbridled arrogance, he is not easily mistaken. Not to mention those dark glasses, which he wears even in the middle of the night." The aged sorcerer paused for effect. "I found out why he does that, too. When we fought, they slipped down and I saw his eyes. They run red with blood; proof that he has not only been using his greater powers, but using them often."

Several shocked gasps filled the room, followed by quiet murmuring. Mikhail silenced them with a gesture of his hand.

"This is a serious violation of his restrictions," he remarked. "A grave offense, indeed."

"Are we going to debate this?" asked a red-headed woman seated opposite of Ash. "I think we have enough evidence here to show what Jin'ei is doing. If he's determined to be a thorn in our side, then we should pluck him out before he can get his hands on the Sentient."

"You can't know for sure that Jin'ei is after Cerebral," Amelia protested. "We don't have any solid proof of what his plans are, only guesses."

"What else could it be?" came another voice from the council.

"We aren't really coming to a quick conclusion here," the nasal-voiced man added. "I think we all knew from the time we threw Jin'ei out that this would happen. He was never secretive about his desires. We'd already decided that he had to die, we just didn't want to go through with it."

"No," Amelia said harshly.

"Enough!" Mikhail commanded. "We have many things to discuss, let's not start bickering. Amelia, you were the one who trained him and it was your vote that allowed Jin'ei to advance to the rank of Esper. Do you have anything you wish to say?"

A few voices whispered to each other while everyone waited for Amelia to speak. Slowly, as if her body was weighted down with loads of concrete, Amelia stood. Once again, Ash recognized the painful sadness in her face.

"When Artemis was first put into my tutelage," she began, her voice laden with grief, "he already had incredible control of abilities. He had a bit of an inflated opinion of himself, as could be expected from someone of his background, but he possessed great skill and potential. I was very impressed by his ability to improve."

"And infatuated by his good looks and masculine charm," came a voice from the crowd.

"Out of order, Carlos," Mikhail admonished. "Please continue, Amelia."

Amelia glared bitterly at the bony, dark-haired man sitting next to her.

"Perhaps I was attracted to him, but, if anything, it was his dedication that I found attractive. I had never before seen anyone who was willing to work so hard for his skills. Even though his character was questionable, I thought that if I could work with him, I could help him overcome his egoism."

"The young are always foolish," Carlos muttered, louder than he had intended.

"Out of order, Carlos," Mikhail snarled. "And do not be so quick to say such things. You have made your own mistakes, need I remind you?"

Carlos's gaze fell down to the table.

"Jin'ei had high aspirations," Amelia asserted, angrily. "He didn't need my help to gain the necessary skills to achieve them; he would have easily achieved them on his own. Instead, I tried to show him humility, the essential trait he lacked to attain his goals. He had so much talent and so much passion. I wanted to help him. As the time passed, however, his true nature became apparent. What I mistook for dedication was, in truth, an obsession and his desires were born solely from a need to satisfy his selfish pride. That pride would not allow him to be content with anything but the highest position of power that he alone commanded. I feared what he would do when he discovered that he could not attain that power with his impure motives. I could see only one possible solution."

Under his breath, Carlos scoffed, "Odd that you came to this conclusion only a few weeks after he announced his engagement to that whore."

Too late, Carlos realized that he had crossed the line as Amelia, red-faced with anger, thrust her palm into his face and released psyonic bolt that hurled both him and his chair to the ground.

A terrifying stillness fell over the room as everyone, including Mikhail, stared at her in shock. No one had ever seen Amelia strike out at anyone; she had always been too composed.

Trembling with rage, Amelia lowered her hand, glowering at the prone man on the ground. Carlos stared back up at her like a whipped dog, wiping the blood from his nose away. Slowly, he lifted his chair back into place and sat down, sliding his chair away from her.

Mikhail was the first to recover from the shock. "Out of order, Carlos," he said with absolute finality. "We are not here to question the motives of one of our most faithful council members. I suggest you give your thoughts a little more contemplation before you act on them, or else remain silent for the remainder of the meeting." Unconcerned with anything Carlos had to say, he turned to Amelia. "What do you recommend?"

Amelia remained quiet, her head turned downward dolefully as she considered her own words. She had known from the moment Jin'ei had been mentioned what would happen. More than anything else, she wanted to escape the truth, but, in her heart, she already knew what she must do.

"Jin'ei," she began gravely, not even looking up to face the others. Her voice faltered for a moment. "Jin'ei must die."

Mikhail nodded and Amelia collapsed wearily into her seat. Ash found his eyes beginning to moisten in sympathy for her. More than just the attraction Carlos implied, he realized, she had truly loved Jin'ei; still loved him in spite of everything that he must have done to her. And now, against everything that she wanted, she had just sentenced him to death. Unintentionally, he sniffled, drawing curious looks from those sitting closest to him. Amelia glanced up at him, almost smiled and then looked back away.

After a long pause, Mikhail rose.

"I have made my decision," he announced. "As head of the Esper Conclave, I declare Jin'ei guilty of conspiring against the order and order his immediate execution. Amelia, as is our law, you must find and bring him before me so that his sentence may be carried out.

"Now, what remains to be done about the Sentient?"

There was some whispered discussion amongst the council for a few moments. Ash tried to hear some of it, but, too hushed, he couldn't make any of it out. Lotus sat back with his arms folded, refusing to participate, while Amelia did not seem to notice much of the world around her.

"I say we take it," proposed a short, balding man. "It rightly belongs in the hands of the council."

"Need I remind you that Cerebral has already chosen a possessor?" Lotus put in tersely.

The other man shrugged. "He can give it to us," he replied. "It will let him do that. Once we have it . . ."

"We misuse it," Carlos interjected, cutting the speaker off. "We eye it for a time, let our thoughts dwell on it and ultimately fall to desires we never knew we had. Have you learned nothing from history?"

"Of course we have," came the red-haired woman's voice.

"We've seen it happen many times," the balding man argued. "We won't make the same mistakes; we know better than that."

Carlos spat onto the table in disgust, drawing a few startled looks. Rolling his eyes a bit, Carlos took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped up his saliva as he continued.

"Don't be ridiculous," he said. "If you've really learned something from history, then you know that few people can resist the lure of power. It's already taking hold in you."

The balding man leaned back, his face turning red in anger. Before he could say anything in reply, the nasal-voiced man spoke up.

"We hide it again. Burry it deep in the bowls of the Earth and never speak of it again."

"That's already been tried," came another woman's voice. "Someone will find it again, unless we come up with a better solution."

"Destroy it," Carlos firmly proposed.

A sudden, deathly cold passed over Ash, filling him with fear. Before he realized what he was doing, he shouted, "No!"

The room plunged into silence as the council regarded the boy and his outburst. The color draining from his face, Ash leaned back in his chair, his eyes shut tight as he waited his horrible demise. After a moment, he dared open his eyes a slit, peeking out at the others.

"Boy," Mikhail said. "Was that you, or was that the Sentient?"

Ash managed a nervous smile and a weak chuckle. Shaking his head slightly, he tried to speak, but no words found their way out of his mouth.

"Why don't we let the Sentient decide for itself what it will do?"

The council looked toward Amelia, confused by her statement, relieving Ash of the attention. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he shrank back, as though trying to disappear into the chair.

"We all know that Cerebral has its own will," Amelia explained. "It will solve its own problem if we give it the chance."

"Preposterous," the balding man replied.

"Not so," Lotus said, a slight smile finding its way to his face for the first time since he had entered the room. "The only threat is that Jin'ei will get his hands on it. No one else knows that the artifact has even been found. Once we deal with Jin'ei, the real danger will pass. From there, Cerebral will let its influence push things in the way it wants. If we wait and watch, the solutions will present itself."

"What about the boy?" someone asked.

Lotus waved an unconcerned hand. "Cerebral chose Ash. It trusts him and, from what I've already seen of him, I think we can agree with its judgment. It knows what it's doing, even if we don't. If we meddle in its plans, we can only make it worse."

Several voices rose up to argue, but all fell silent as Mikhail held up his hand.

"I've heard enough," he stated resolutely. "Lotus, I agree with you. This is all far beyond our control and our knowledge. Rather than shoot in the dark, I think we should let things play themselves out a bit longer and watch them unfold before we decide to take any action. We can do no good by rushing into things. For the time being, we will focus all of our efforts on finding Jin'ei. Once he has been dealt with, then we can focus all our attention on this problem, as we should."

"Then the decision is made?" Aldaris asked.

Mikhail nodded.

"Very well, then. We will wait." Turning to Amelia, he added, "Set out immediately; we have no time to waste. Capture Jin'ei at all costs. If he resists, kill him. This meeting is adjourned."

"Not quite," Lotus interjected. "I'm afraid there's another issue I must bring to point."

All eyes turned on the old man.

"The hunter, Lupus, has come out of hiding," he explained. "I have made some rather startling discoveries concerning him."

"Go on," Aldaris prompted.

"Lupus is under a Bestial Curse," Lotus explained, drawing shocked gasps from the council. "As you know, that spell is forbidden. An immediate inquiry must be made to find the one who has done this. Furthermore, in light of other information I have gathered, I believe now is the appropriate time to end Lupus's hunt for good."

The color drained from Aldaris's face. "Do you realize what you're saying?" he asked. "If Lupus is under a Bestial Curse, he can't beaten. A direct assault is suicide, who would dare attempt it?"

"I will," Lotus replied firmly. "It must be done."

"Impossible," Aldaris said. "Your experience is too vital to the conclave for me to allow you to simply throw your life away."

"I _will_ go," the old man asserted.

"How will you succeed where hundreds before you have failed?" Aldaris demanded.

"I will use Shimmerblade," Lotus replied.

Aldaris was awestruck. "You know the dangers of the Celestial Sword. If it proves to be too much for you, what then? Even if you fail to gain control of it, the strain of its trial will most likely kill you."

His eyes closed solemnly, Lotus reached into his pocket and withdrew a sealed envelope. He placed it on the table and slid it to the younger man.

"I have already prepared for that. Inside that envelope you will find my last will and testament, as well as all the information concerning the hunter that I have gathered. Whether by my hand or another, Lupus must be stopped. I am willing to die for that cause."

As Aldaris took the documents, he realized that Lotus had already decided on the course before he came. He looked at Lotus with a forceful expression, hoping vainly that he could dissuade him, but the old man merely returned the stare, equally forceful. For a moment the two stared at each other in silence. Finally, Aldaris conceded.

"Do as you will then," he stated. "I will trust your judgement, old friend."

Aldaris took a step back away from the table, holding out his hand. He spoke a word of command. The air around the sorcerer's hand thickened, slowly loosing its transparency until it took the form of a sword.

"Unlike the Sentient," Aldaris warned, "The Celestial Sword cannot be dominated. It must choose its owner, or be freely given by its owner to another. The last person to use this weapon is dead, so you will be forced to endure and overcome the sword's trial. May God be with you. This meeting is adjourned."


	10. A Mountain of Trials

10 A Mountain of Trials

Shimmerblade was encased in a green, bamboo sheath with the sword's name, spelled in the ancient language and painted in gold, on one side. The magical symbols that gave the sword its power were carved into its ivory hilt. Clutching it in both hands, Lotus stared for a long time at the magnificent weapon.

The others had already left and aged sorcerer sat alone in the empty meeting chamber, considering his situation. He had already committed himself to stopping Lupus, but could he do it? Even with the power of Shimmerblade, defeating the hunter would be a difficult task, but he didn't have any guarantee that he would even be able to wield the blade. Could he do the task without it?

He closed his eyes. _What a bitter choice,_ he thought. As his thoughts drifted toward his granddaughter, his mind conjured up the memory of a cold day ten years ago. Even now, he saw it just as clearly as if it was happening again; it had been the only time that he had ever seen Lilly truly cry.

Her arm was in a sling that day, her collarbone dislocated from the head-on collision that had killed her parents. The both of them stood dry beneath his black umbrella as the rain poured over the cemetery. Throughout the procession, Lilly remained quiet, staring brokenly at the two caskets as if she had still been in shock. That night, he had held her close to him as her tears flowed unchecked down her soft cheeks until sleep at last took her. He could once more feel the dampness of her mourning on his clothes.

He couldn't bare the thought of forcing her to witness the death of a parent again. If he died, someone that they both trusted would take care of her, but the scars of loss would remain for many long years. Was really willing to risk that?

_No, that's not right_, he realized. _It is for her that I must do this. It is for her future that I am willing to give my life. I must stop the hunter for her sake as well as for others._

Finally resolved in his path, Lotus closed his hand around Shimmerblade's smooth hilt. Giving a silent apology that his deceased son would never hear, he pulled on the blade.

For an instant, clouds filled the old man's head and he lost all sense of time or place. When he opened his eyes, the placid, gray walls of the council chamber had vanished. The ground beneath his feet was barren and rocky and reddish sand swirled about in the dry wind. Before him, a towering cliff reached up endlessly toward the starless sky.

Lotus's glanced about the wasteland. Where was he? He had never before seen any place like the one in which one he now stood. Why was the sky dark? It could have been no later than half-past noon. Suddenly, to the old man's horror, he realized that the sword was gone.

'**If you wish to use my power,'** a powerful voice declared, **'you must first overcome yourself.'**

"What do you mean?" Lotus demanded, searching for the source of the voice. "Where am I?"

'**Nowhere,'** the voice replied. **'And everywhere. What you see before you are the crags of your consciousness. Every fear, every dream, every desire; they are all embodied in the stones that form this mountain. I will only grant my power to those who can conquer themselves. As you climb this mountain, your own fears and desires will try you. Overcome them and you will have earned my power.'**

"Then you are Shimmerblade?" Lotus asked.

'**Ascend to the peak. Rise above yourself and then you will understand.'**

Lotus stared at the mountain for a long moment, his gaze slowly rising upward. He could only just see the top. He was supposed to climb a sheer cliff?

"I worry too much," he mussed, rubbing his neck, which had become sore from staring upward. "Oh, well. A journey of a thousand miles, as the saying goes."

Reaching out with his hand, he gripped onto a crack in the mountain, securing his feet on a small boulder, and began to pull himself up.

---

When Ash came out of the council chamber, Lilly and Brock were sitting on the sofa, chatting casually with each other while they watched Jeremy. The young boy was playing with Togepi, leaving his stuffed toy on the ground. Amelia followed shortly after Ash. Grabbing his doll, the toddler rushed to his mother and attached himself to her leg.

"Miss Amelia," Brock said as he rose to his feet. "Did you know that Jeremy is four years old? Not three, four years old."

Amelia chuckled. "He wasn't too much trouble, was he?"

"No, not at all," Lilly replied. "He's such a cute little boy."

"He doesn't say much," Brock added with a smile. "But he sure says it often."

Amelia laughed again. "That's my boy alright," she agreed. "Come on, Jeremy, it's time to go."

The two of them started toward the exit door, but stopped when she heard a voice call her name. Turning, she saw Carlos emerge from the council chamber, his head lowered pensively.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I shouldn't have said what I did in there. I was afraid that you would make the same mistake I did. I know how hard it is to have to sentence one of your own students, especially one that you really cared for. Forgive me for doubting you."

Amelia smiled empathetically. She laid her hands gently on his shoulders and shook her head.

"You only did what you thought was right," she said. "No one can fault you for what you did back then."

Carlos did not raise his eyes. Instead, he looked down on Jeremy, who stared back in wide-eyed curiosity. Kneeling down to the child's eye level, Carlos looked the boy in the face.

"You're lucky," he told the boy, "to have such a good mother. Did you know that?"

Jeremy eyed him equivocally for a moment, then, holding up one hand, profoundly replied, "I four years old."

Carlos laughed. "Yes," he agreed. "Yes, you are."

With a good-hearted smile, Carlos gave Jeremy a pat on the head, mussing the young boy's hair. Rising to his feet, he turned to Amelia.

"I have to be going now," he said. "Don't be afraid to ask me if you need anything. I'll do whatever I can to help."

"Thank you," Amelia replied with earnest gratitude.

Carlos nodded politely, then disappeared through the door. Amelia watched him leave, then turned to the others.

"Thank you again for watching Jeremy," she said. "And Lilly, tell your grandfather I wish him luck."

Lilly nodded. Jeremy hugging her leg, Amelia left.

Taking a seat in one of the reclining chairs, Ash removed his hat and scratched his head, giving a heavy and relieved sigh. He had never before felt as tense as he had during the council and now that it was completely over, he felt so relaxed that he couldn't find the strength to stand. Replacing his cap, he patted his pikachu on the head, then closed his eyes and leaned back.

Lilly stood by the entrance to the council chamber, tapping her foot impatiently. When Lotus didn't come out, she turned to Ash irritably.

"What's taking Grandfather so long?" she asked.

Ash's eyes suddenly popped open, recalling the instructions the old man had given him. Leaning forward, he reached into his pocket and withdrew two neatly folded pieces of paper.

"Lotus said he was going to be a while and to give these to you," he explained.

Lilly took them and unfolded the first one, quickly skimming its contents.

"It's a list of materials for a spell," she explained. "And a big spell at that. Excuse me," she turned to the clerk.

The clerk, who had been wiggling his pencil in two fingers to create the illusion of it being made of rubber, looked up at her with a start. His face adopting a slight reddish tone, he quickly put his pencil down. "Yes?"

Lilly handed him the list. "We need to get these spell ingredients," she requested. "And probably something to carry them in."

The clerk held a pair of reading glasses over his eyes as he looked over the paper a few times. Placing the list on his desk, he reached into the drawer and pulled out a large text and an inventory checklist.

"I'm not sure if we have all this," he said, scanning the records. He opened the book, licked his finger and flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for. "Oh, wow," he stammered, eyes wide. "You're grandpa's not leaving anything to chance, is he? Just a second, let me see what I can do."

The young man scurried out of the anteroom, leaving the others to wait. Lilly quickly unfolded the second paper and began reading. Startled by the contents, she carefully read the first line again. Ash watched, confused, as Lilly staggered backward and sat in the sofa. Lilly opened the note again and read slowly.

"To my most cherished granddaughter,

"I am writing this to you now because I may never see you again and there are still things that you must be told. Lupus must be stopped, or many people will die in the future. If it is not already too late, I may have found a way to stop him and so I am calling upon the power of the Celestial Sword, Shimmerblade, to aid me. If you are reading this, I will most likely have already begun the trial.

"You would not know this, but your father was not killed instantly, as your mother was. He died in the ambulance, only five minutes from the hospital. He was awake for all but the last few moments of it. Many things were said between us, most of which will remain secret between your father and I, but there was something that he wanted me to tell you when I felt the time was right.

"Your father was never upset with you or me. He feared that you would think this from the way he always acted toward me and he expressed this concern with me many times. He knew the dangers that would come from studying magic and he did not want to subject you to those dangers. That was why he and I never saw each other much when you were young. He asked me that I not encourage you one way or the other, but let you come to the decision on your own.

"I still remember that warm, summer day seven years ago; the day you made your choice. We were sitting on the porch together enjoying lunch. You turned to me and asked me to teach you. When I asked why you wanted to learn, you looked me in the eye and replied, 'Because I want to make people happy.' When you said that, I was so proud of you. After watching you grow from a little girl to a young woman, I'm still proud of you.

"I meant to tell you this long before now, but I could never find an appropriate time. Your father wanted you to understand that, regardless of which path you chose to take, he accepted it and supported you fully. He wanted you to become the best at whatever you decided to do and to never regret it. If he were still here, I think he would tell you the same thing now.

"Whatever may happen from here, know this, if I die, it will not be in vain. What I do, I do to save a life and many lives. Never forget, it is not a waste to sacrifice yourself to create a better world, no matter how small the improvement is, no matter if you succeed or not.

"I love you,

"Your grandfather"

Lilly closed the note in her hands. As she sat in silence, two tears fell from her cheeks, rolling slowly off her gloves. Trying unsuccessfully to hide her emotions, she looked up at the others, who looked back with concern.

"What is it, Lilly?" Brock asked.

"Nothing," Lilly replied weakly. Clearing her throat, she repeated stronger, "Nothing."

Ash watched, still puzzled, as Lilly carefully folded the note and put it into her pocket. He started to say something, but thought better of it.

The clerk returned, carrying with him a small suitcase. He placed it on the desk and opened the book again, finding the correct page again.

"I assume Master Lotus is preparing this in case Jin'ei shows up," he said. "I can't think of any other reason why he would want this stuff anyway."

"What does it do?" Ash asked, rising from his chair.

"Well," the clerk began, "it's an alteration spell. It, um," he grasped for the right words, "well, it messes up a person's brain. If it were used on any given person, it would reduce them to a vegetative state. In Jin'ei's case, however, since his mind is more developed than a normal person, it would only strip him of his psychic powers, causing little mental damage, if any and its effects are permanent. Now," to Lilly he added ardently, "I've double checked all the measurements. Alteration spells are extremely complex. If you use the tiniest bit too much or too little, there's no telling exactly what will happen."

Opening the suitcase, he pulled out a small plastic bag, which contained four black hairs. "This is the catalyzing agent," he explained. "It doesn't really do anything for the effects of the spell, but without it the whole thing won't work."

He put the bag back into the case and pulled out a bent spoon. "When you've mixed it all together, stir it counterclockwise three times with this. Once you do, it will begin releasing smoke for two minutes. The person you want the spell to affect must breathe it in before the time runs out. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Lilly replied.

---

Just ten feet further, the peak of the mountain waited for the aged sorcerer. Straining, Lotus reached up for another handhold. His hand closed over a rock jutting from the mountain and he pulled with all his strength. As he rose, he looked closer at the stone he was holding onto. While it held no literal resemblance, when he inspected it, he saw Jin'ei's sneering face on its surface.

It no longer surprised the old man, however. Throughout the entirety of his climb, he had seen many images appear within the mountain's rocks. All his fears and dreams, just as Shimmerblade had warned him. It didn't bother him now, though; he'd seen too many.

A second glance and Lotus realized that he could see Jin'ei's whole body. The maniacal glare on Jin'ei's face was one of complete insanity and, the old man noticed, he was stretching out his hand, palm outward, as though he were firing a psyonic bolt.

He followed the direction of the arm. Jin'ei was aiming directly at Lilly, or at least a stone that resembled, but didn't resemble Lilly. Her face was contorted into an expression of pure horror. The certain knowledge of imminent death was clear in her eyes. As Lotus looked upon the image, he began to think of his granddaughter. It was only an image, but it reflected what would happen if Jin'ei could not be captured. He shuddered at the thought of his granddaughter facing the twisted esper alone.

Suddenly, Lotus heard a loud grinding sound. Large cracks had split through the stone he was grasping onto and it was crumbling to pieces. Desperately, he threw his arms out as his handhold fell apart, plummeting downward and shrinking out of sight.

His heart pounding against his chest like a drum, Lotus searched for another rock to take hold of as his new one began to crumble as well.

'_No,'_ Lotus cried silently. _'It's a test. I have to overcome my fears.'_

Exerting all of his willpower, stretching his discipline to its utmost limits, Lotus forced all thought of the mad psychic out of his mind. He was not afraid of Jin'ei! He was in control.

Lotus's hand slid into crack above his head just as his foothold dropped out from under him, groaning angrily as it tumbled down the mountainside. For a moment, Lotus hung freely, his legs swinging wildly. He found another crack and shoved his foot into it, drawing a heavy sigh of relief as he found secure footing. With a determined grunt, he threw his left hand up, hooking the ledge of the mountain, and pulled himself to the top.

Gasping for air, Lotus lay on the ground, elated that his long trial was finally over. When his lungs stopped aching from the strain of drawing breath, he rose weakly to his knees, then, using a large boulder for support, stood up.

Before him, a small shrine, glowing with mystical power, displayed his prize. Shimmerblade sat in the center of the shrine, jabbed into the ground.

"I wonder where I've seen this before," Lotus said with a chuckle, still caught in the euphoria of his success.

Taking hold of the sword's hilt, he tried to draw it from the ground. The sword refused to budge.

'**You, who seeks to use my power,'** the sword demanded**. 'For what purpose do you desire to wield me?'**

"I need your help," the old man firmly replied. "Help me save a life."

The steel of the blade began to shine, its light intensifying until Lotus had to look away, but he did not release the sword. A furious heat, like a burning white coal, came from the sword's hilt, searing his palm. Lotus cried out in pain, but his grip on Shimmerblade did not slack.

---

'_You're always showing off your little parlor tricks to her! I've seen you do it!'_ The words were clear in his mind. _'Did you ever stop to think about what might be best for her?'_

'_I do. Every day. A happy childhood is what is best for her now.'_

'_Don't give me that! You want her to learn magic like you. You want to make up for the fact that I didn't stick with it.'_

'_I'm entertaining my granddaughter in the only way that I really know how. If she decides she wants to learn it, isn't that her decision to make?'_

The blow landed firmly on Lotus's jaw, throwing him back onto the bed. Rubbing the bruise, stunned by surprise, he didn't even look up as his son stomped out of the room.

---

'_Why does daddy hate you?'_

'_He doesn't hate me, Lilly. He's just having a bad day.'_

'_Every time we visit he has a bad day. He hates you. He hates me because I like you.'_

'_No! Your father could never hate you. He loves you, you know that.'_

'_Then why does he always yell?'_

Lotus could only wrap his arms around her in a gentle embrace. He could not explain.

---

'_You two are always shouting. That's not good.'_

'_I know. He's worried about Lilly, is all, which is understandable.'_

'_I only bring her here because of how much she enjoys being with you. I appreciate all that you do for her, but if you and Steven can't stop this violent bickering, I won't let her come anymore.'_

'_You can't do that! She's my granddaughter. I love her just as much as you do and I have just as much a right to see her as you.'_

'_I'm sorry.'_

Lotus stared blankly at his son's wife. She couldn't take her away from him. She had no right.

---

'_Ha! You think I need you? I already have all that I need. I can train myself.'_

'_You have been cast out of the order Jin'ei. Henceforth, you are forbidden to use your powers.'_

'_What?'_

'_If you use continue to use your powers, you will incur the full wrath of the conclave.'_

'_Mikhail, you shriveled bastard!'_

Jin'ei's voice cut off as Mikhail clenched his fist, choking as though it were clenched around his throat.

'_We are through tolerating your insolence, your selfishness and your damnable pride. Be gone from here and never return.'_

Jin'ei took a deep gasp of air as Mikhail released him. Shooting everyone in the room a venomous glare, he turned and slithered out of the room.

---

'_Two children and an older boy. The youth are the most dangerous to us. They don't know how to be quiet about things, and these three don't even know they're supposed to keep it secret. Of all the people, Lotus, your granddaughter has chosen the worst possible group to break her oath.'_

'_Please, Aldaris. It is only a first offense.'_

'_Unimportant. As is her age, if you were thinking of bringing that up as well. Lilly is a featherbrained little girl and she has to get her act together if she wishes to study the art of magic.'_

'_I will work with her.'_

'_You will indeed. And you have ten years to help her get over it. Your granddaughter is on probation, and I'm being too lenient by letting you be her probation officer. Make sure you explain it clearly, Lotus. One spell, even the most basic of incantations, and she will face a full punishment. If she can clean up her act, she'll get out of this with only five demerits. If not, I won't be nice again.'_

Lotus nodded his assent. There was nothing else he could do.

_---_

_'I take no pleasure in killing! Do not presume to understand me. People like you could never grasp my motives.'_

Lotus blinked in surprise. The hunter stood before him, sword clenched firmly in his grasp, incomprehensible rage on his face. He stared at Lupus for a longmoment.

**'This one?'** the voice of the sword asked. **'You ask for my aid, because of this one?'**

"Yes. I cannot hold off his rage without your help."

**'But are you resolved to your purpose?'**

A thousand images assaulted his mind again and again. Lilly, Jin'ei, Ash and his friends and countless others all rushed past him, pulling him away from the hunter. For a moment, he felt himself growing weaker, the life slowly slipping away from him.

"No!" he cried. "I must do this!"

**'Must you?'**

"Yes!"

---

With a resounding ring, the sword came loose, its light and heat instantly dying. Lotus stumbled backward, unbalanced, only barely avoiding falling off the edge of the cliff. Triumphantly, he held the blade up. It glowed softly, like the stars from whose power was drawn to forge it and its gentle ringing was the voice of a siren; clear and beautiful.

'**My strength is your strength,' **the blade's voice seemed somehow pleased. **'Master.'**

**---**

An abrupt silence fell over the room as the chamber door opened. Shimmerblade resting at his hip, Lotus emerged from the council chamber, glowing with a radiance that seemed to rival the sun. The others stared, awestruck at the magnificence of Lotus's stature. Slowly, the light faded away, but the sorcerer, once old and frail in appearance, stood before them with an air of splendor that would not be dimmed.

Lilly, tears of joy forcing their way out of her eyes, rushed to her grandfather and threw her arms around him. Lotus gently returned the embrace, hugging her closer to him then he ever had before.

"I understand, Grandfather," Lilly said through her joyous sobs. "I understand. I'm proud of you, too."

Reluctantly loosening his hold, he smiled at her. He looked up at the others. Both Ash and Brock stared, mouths hanging open.

"Come," he said. "It's time to go."


	11. The Sorcerer's Gambit

11 The Sorcerer's Gambit

Misty put aside the emptied plate and crude wooden utensils that Lupus had made for her. She watched quietly as he quickly finished his meal, struggling to manipulate the bone in his deformed hands to get the last bit of meat from it. Fighting back one of his animalistic urges, he put the bone down and looked back to the girl.

"It was good," Misty said. "Really."

Lupus watched her as she sat down on the bed, slipping off her shoes. After his masochistic craze earlier in the day, he found it hard to look at her. Whatever thoughts he might have entertained about being like a father to her seemed so ridiculous now. How could he possibly do her any good if he was so weak as to give in to such horrible impulses? He did not deserve to even desire such a thing. He'd been allowed a brief moment of peace, but the time to face the truth had come.

"Where were you going before I brought you here?" Lupus asked.

"We were on our way to Blackthorn City," she replied.

"Tomorrow," he explained, "I will take you to the edge of the forest, nearest to Blackthorn as I can. From there, you should be able to find your way."

Misty smiled. "I'm glad I met you."

The young girl's voice had such a tone of honesty that the hunter felt his heart melting.

"You shouldn't say that," he told her. "It would truly have been best if we had never met. We come from two opposite worlds, worlds that can never exist together. When I leave you tomorrow, do not look for or think of me again. You will be happier if you forget me."

"No," Misty replied, shocked at his words. "How can you say that? There's no reason why we can't see each other again. I could . . ."

"Listen to me," Lupus's gaze was intense. "I am a predator, a murdering beast that has preyed on the lives of others. I cannot change that. I've killed too many people to have the right to be with you. All I can do is to continue the hunt. That is the only purpose left for me. It is what I am."

"But . . ." Misty's eyes moistened with pity. "That's so lonely."

"That's life," Lupus replied. "We all make our choices. Some choose peace, others, suffering. I am the hunter and to hunt is to be alone. It is too late for me to find happiness in this world. I lost that chance long ago."

Seeing the tears in Misty's eyes, he felt as if his heart was being wrenched from his body. Reaching out with his deformed hands, he wiped them away, gently caressing her cheeks.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I know you want to help, but, there's nothing you can do for me. This is my fate."

"You shouldn't have to suffer like this," Misty wept. "It isn't fair."

"Life isn't fair," Lupus said. "If it makes you feel better, you have found a part of me that I'd thought dead. For a brief moment, you let me be human and I'll never let go of that part again." He hesitated, pained by the knowledge that what he told her would inevitably become a lie. "But I can't be selfish. As much as I wish I could be as a second father to you, if I were to be with you, you would loose that innocence that makes you so beautiful. Don't let me take that from you. Please, let me let you be happy."

Misty turned her head down in sorrow. Was there really nothing she could do for him? She couldn't accept it. Lupus withdrew his hands.

"Sleep now," he urged. "In time, you will see that this is the best for both of us. I couldn't really be happy with you anyhow. I would always feel uncomfortable, knowing that you are innocent and pure, while my hands are stained with blood. It's already starting now."

Misty laid her head down on the pillow, staring back at Lupus with pleading eyes. The hunter balked at them, turning away from the sight. Tears still welled up in them, Misty closed her eyes and pulled the blanket over her body.

Lupus watched her lie there, each passing second an emotional torture that he accepted as punishment for forcing his burden on her. Only once he knew she slept did he let his tears flow freely; he would not let her see any more of his pain than she already had. Dokoto moved up next to its master and rested its head on his lap, whining questioningly. Lupus looked back at his companion and scratched the dog's ears, sobbing gently.

Suddenly, Dokoto's ears perked up and it bared its teeth angrily. Rising up, it turned toward the entrance to the cave. Taking his sword and placing it in his belt, Lupus stood.

"Yes, Dokoto," he hissed, all emotions fading away from him. "I smell him, too. He's here."

Pushing aside the vines, Lupus and his dog stepped out into the blackness of the moonless night. The darkness hid the sorcerer almost completely from his sight, the faint glimmer of the stars barely revealing a faint outline. The scent, however, could not be mistaken and it also revealed that the others were with him.

"You were a fool to seek me out," he growled. "You've only ensured your doom."

The clear sound of chanting overshadowed the chirping insects. Lupus tensed, his hand closing on his sword's hilt, prepared to attack at the completion of the sorcerer's spell.

A ball of light appeared in Lotus's hand, illuminating the forest. The old man gently tossed the ball upward, letting it rise up above them and stopping it as it began to fall. Lotus and Ash remained calm, but Lilly and Brock, who had not yet seen the hunter's face, gasped in shock. Only that shock held the hunter back, another stunning reminder of what he was.

"Grandfather," Lilly stuttered, "isn't that . . .?"

"Yes," Lotus answered.

"But that means . . ."

"Yes. Step back, all of you. I will deal with this myself."

Lupus snorted at the sorcerer's bold claim. Releasing his hold on his sword, he stood upright again, staring back at his prey coldly. Did the old fool really expect to win? He waited, curious to see what his enemy would do. To his surprise, the old man calmly stepped forward.

"I'm here for the girl," he stated, no trace of fear or anger in his voice.

Lupus looked back toward the cave. "She's sleeping inside," he said, turning back to his prey. "She's safe."

"I know," Lotus said. "I've come to take her back."

Lupus's eyes narrowed. "I won't let you take her," he snarled. "I'll never let you taint her with your evil."

Aghast at the hunter's words, Ash rushed forward, fists clenched in rage. "You're the one who's the killer," he shouted.

"Pika!" Pikachu added.

Dokoto hopped in front of its master, baring its teeth ferociously. Lupus put his hand on the dog's head, stopping it.

"Silence, ignorant boy," he snarled. "Those too young to understand shouldn't open their mouths."

Ash took another step forward, but Lotus took hold of his jacket and pulled him back behind him. Confused, Ash looked up at the old man, who only shook his head firmly. Ash backed away, his fiery gaze never leaving Lupus for a moment.

"Tell me, hunter," he asked, "who was it that cursed you?"

Unprepared for the question, Lupus shifted to a defensive stance, his hand once again finding his weapon. "Why does it matter to you?" he returned warily.

"The person who did this must be brought before the council," Lotus replied. "The spell he used on you has been forbidden for over a thousand years."

"Two thousand," Lupus shot back.

The knowledge staggered the aged sorcerer. Taking a step back, his eyes wide with shock, sudden understanding crashed over him like a wave on the rocks.

"Then it was you the whole time," he said. "You've been the same one killing us for these all these centuries. I should have guessed. Oh, my, I pity you."

The word enraged Lupus. With a fierce growl, Lupus whipped his sword from his sheath.

"I don't want your pity," he roared. "I want your blood!"

Glowing softly, Shimmerblade filled the air with its brilliant ring as the sorcerer drew it from its sheath.

"Ash," he ordered quietly, "you and the others go and get Misty." Then, unafraid, to the hunter, "If you want my blood, come and take it."

Lupus smiled mirthlessly as he drew his own blade, holding it up before him, "Indeed, I will."

Ash and his friends raced around to the side, hopping to get to the cave without drawing the hunter's attention, only to be stopped by the pack of houndour. The six dogs closed in around them in an angry circle of snarling fur and teeth.

"We don't have time for you right now," Ash yelled at them. "Get out of the way!"

The dogs tightened the ring, preparing to attack. Ash and his friends stood back to back as they watched and waited, but the attack never came. Barking, Dokoto rushed in, breaking the circle. It firmly stared down the rest of the pack until they backed off, then turned to face the others, glaring mostly at Pikachu.

"So," Ash said confidently, "you want a rematch. Pikachu?"

"Pika!" the lightning mouse affirmed.

"Alright then," Ash replied, stepping back with the others. "I guess we'll make time."

The two pokemon stared at each other furiously, both equally determined to win; pikachu for the red-haired girl who had always been so kind to it, Dokoto for the master that had raised it since it had been a puppy.

Making the first move, Dokoto again let the demonic light of its gaze come to its eyes. This time, however, Pikachu, expecting the dog's attempt, refused to be intimidated, glaring back adamantly.

"That won't work this time," Ash stated. "This is too important to loose like that again."

Seeing the truth of the boy's words, Dokoto let the light fade and, baring its teeth, growled. Pikachu clenched its tiny paws, its eyes narrowing in focus. Enraged, Dokoto roared and charged toward its opponent. Pikachu stood resolutely, more than prepared for the fight.

With a furious cry, Lupus pressed down hard with his left foot, launching himself forward. He landed hard and continued his charge without breaking stride, focused only on his kill, the sorcerer's magical ball of light gleaming in his sword. Lotus waited fearlessly as the hunter drew near, his grip tightening on Shimmerblade's hilt.

"DIE!" Lupus roared, his sword rising high as he bore down on his opponent.

Both swords clanged together, sparks ejecting from the meeting of steel against steel. Lupus gasped, realizing that, in spite of the strength of the blow, Lotus held the attack at bay, wielding the sword in only one hand. Growling, the hunter leaned into his attack, putting more weight on his sword, causing the older man's hand to tremble slightly. Closing his other hand on the hilt to steady the blade, Lotus took a step forward. Shimmerblade glowed brighter as the sorcerer pulled back with his lower hand, pressing forward with the other, knocking the hunter's blade aside.

Lupus leapt backward to avoid being hit. Landing several feet away, he stared back at the old man in amazement. How could he have gained that much strength? It wasn't possible. Lifting his sword again, Lupus charged again.

Sword struck sword again and again, each blow more furious then its predecessor. Lupus slashed with all the force of the centuries of hatred that had been reawakened in him and Lotus, managing to keep one step ahead of the hunter, deflected each attack as it came.

Lupus brought his sword down again, but, as Lotus raised Shimmerblade to parry, turned it aside so that it missed, swinging it behind his back, switching hands as it passed and brought it in from the other side. The old man succeeded in stopping the attack, but the hunter's fist drove into his face, knocking him to the ground.

Lotus rolled aside as the sword came down into the earth where his head should have been, slashing at the hunter's legs as he rolled back to his feet. Lupus leapt straight up, flipping in the air to dodge and landed on the other side of his sword just as the sorcerer was leaping back to get away, taking hold of his sword again.

Lupus stared at the sorcerer in utter shock, unable to accept what he was seeing. The old man had escaped death before by pure luck, but now he was meeting him as an equal in combat. How could it be?

Plucking his sword out of the ground again, he prepared to attack, his mind racing desperately to find an alternate strategy.

Pikachu hopped aside quickly as Dokoto's powerful jaws snapped shut where he had been only milliseconds before. The electric rodent jumped up onto the dog's head as it snapped at it again, then leapt back down on the other side, dodging once more as Dokoto whirled on it to strike, again only catching air in its sharp teeth.

"Don't let it get its jaws on you!" Ash warned. "Quick attack!"

Pikachu leapt aside as Dokoto snapped a fourth time, this time leaping forward the moment the dog's mouth was shut and smashing into its opponent with its head lowered. The force of the head-butt, knocked the houndour back slightly, but not enough. Pikachu ducked under the following attack, but Dokoto caught hold of its tail as it moved in to attack and hurled it away.

Pikachu rolled and the dog's jaws closed over its foreleg instead of its neck. As it was being lifted into the air for Dokoto's powerful thrash attack, Pikachu threw out its paw and caught the hound on the eye. Whining in pain and alarm, Dokoto released its opponent. Flipping in the air, Pikachu landed on its feet.

"Tackle it!" Ash commanded.

Pikachu leapt forward while its enemy was still dazed, throwing all of its weight into the dog's side. The blow sent Dokoto sprawling to the ground.

"Finish it with a thunderbolt!"

Pikachu tensed, paws and teeth clenching, as it drew out its electrical power, sparks flying from its cheeks as the energy built. Leaping into the air with a powerful cry, it released all of its stored electricity in a devastating blast of lightning that threw it further into the air. Dokoto, barely risen to its feet, howled in pain as thousands of volts of raw electricity used its body as a conduit to the ground. Dokoto struggled for a moment, then fell to the ground, its tongue lolling out of its mouth.

With a shout of success, Ash ran forward and grabbed his pokemon.

"We did it," he exclaimed. "Great job!"

Squealing delightedly, the mouse hopped up onto its trainer's shoulder and nuzzled his neck. Leaving the unconscious Dokoto on the ground, Ash and his friends bolted up toward the cave, unhindered by the rest of the pack.

"Misty!" Ash cried, bursting into the cave.

He saw his friend, sleeping peacefully on the bed in the back of the cave. Rushing toward her, he dropped to his knees beside the bed and shook her. Misty awoke with a start, bolting upright almost immediately. She looked around, her head a little cloudy, and saw Ash staring back at her with concern. A flood of relief crashed over her like a bursting dam and she threw her arms around him.

"Ash!" she cried happily.

Ash's eyes went wide with shock at the seemingly affectionate display, his facing turning a brilliant shade of red. He stuttered bewilderedly, his eyes darting about uncomfortably.

Misty heard the sound of Brock clearing his throat and opened her eyes suddenly, noticing the others for the first time. Blushing, she pushed Ash away and leaned back against the wall. Ash fell to the floor, his eyes still open all the way.

"There'll be plenty of time to feel embarrassed later," Brock commented. "Right now, I think we should get out of here."

Misty looked around the cave, seeing no one else but her friends. "Where's Lupus?" she asked.

"He's outside fighting with my grandfather," Lilly explained.

Misty gasped in horror. "No!" she cried, leaping from the bed past her startled friends. "We have to stop them!"

Lotus watched carefully as Lupus drew his sword from the earth, raising his own blade in defense. _'He's very good,'_ the sorcerer thought. _'But then, what else could I have expected.'_

Lupus charged, his sword held high. Lotus saw it and thrust Shimmerblade upward, to the left, to deflect the oncoming blow. The expected clang of swords came, but, to the old man's surprise, Lupus's metal sheath came in from the other side, striking him on the shoulder and nearly knocking it out of socket. He cried out in pain, barely managing to turn away the second slash, only to have the sheath collide with his left hip. Dropping on one knee, Lotus barely found the time to parry the attack that would have otherwise been the deathblow.

Pushing himself back to his feet, he struck weakly at the hunter, who easily evaded the attack, striking back hard. Lotus tried to turn the blow away, only to be knocked off-balance by the attack and received part of the slash, a long bleeding gash opening on his side. The sorcerer attacked again, harder this time, forcing the hunter to evade it.

Lupus struck again, but this time, when Lotus thrust out his blade to deflect it, the sorcerer turned Shimmerblade at a slight angle, allowing the hunter's sword to slide down the blade. With a sharp twist, Lotus trapped Lupus's weapon in the crook of Shimmerblade's crosspiece. The hunter fought fruitlessly to wrest his weapon from his opponent.

"Now that I have your attention," Lotus grunted, struggling to hold out against the hunter's strength. "I've already told you I do not wish to kill you."  
"You can't kill me," Lupus hissed. "I'm immortal."

Lotus shook his head. "You're not immortal," he explained. "You're timeless. Time does not touch you, and you remain as you are. You can't die because you're not really alive. But that's not what I came here to tell you."  
"Shut up!" Lupus roared, twisting on his sword with all his might.

Lotus maintained control of his opponent's sword. "Stop this war against my people now!" he commanded. "Whatever has been done to you in the past, it is not the fault of anyone still living."  
"Shut up!" Lupus yelled again.

"It must stop," Lotus asserted. "You're venting your frustration against people who have done you no wrong. You're needlessly taking the lives of innocent people. You're a murderer."

"How dare you judge me?" Lupus screamed.

Lotus twisted his arm, pushing with all his strength, and tore the sword from his opponent's hands. Flipping his wrist around, he easily tossed the weapon away, drawing back his own to attack.

"Come to your senses!" Lotus cried.

Lupus leapt backward, barely avoiding the strike that would have cut open his throat. In a single, fluid motion, the hunter snapped back his wrist, removing his scarf and flinging it toward the sorcerer, snapping his wrist back so that it wrapped around Lotus's neck. Unprepared for such an attack, the sword fell to the ground as Lupus yanked the old man toward him, catching him by the collar and striking him on the side of the head with the back of his hand.

"Damn you!" he screamed. "How dare you speak to me like that? You don't know what I've been through!" He drove his fist into the sorcerer's gut. "You don't know what it's like to loose everything that's important to you. You can't imagine how much it hurts to watch your only child die and know that there's nothing you can do to prevent it."

Lupus's hand caught Lotus in the stomach again, but he was only dimly aware of the pain. The hunter's words had taken hold of his mind and dragged out old memories.

Lotus was sitting in the ambulance, holding onto his son's hand, which had turned white from lost blood. Desperately, his son struggled to speak his last words. The moment his final goodbye was said, his hand fell limp. A few moments later, the heart monitor's beeping fell to a dry, sustained tone.

Lotus looked up into the hunter's enraged glare, his eye swelling from the blow he had received. A tear slid down his cheek.

"Yes," the sorcerer muttered. "I do."

Lupus leaned back unconsciously, his mouth quivering. His expression turning from shock to rage, the hunter pummeled his opponent's face, blood splattering onto the ground with every blow.

"Liar!" he screamed. "You're all filthy, murdering bastards! You don't know what it means to love!" He threw Lotus, face first, to the ground and smashed his foot down onto the old man's head. "Die! Die drenched in the blood of vengeance and burn in hell for all eternity."

Lupus brought his foot up into the sorcerer's gut. Rolling with the blow, Lotus took hold of Shimmerblade and leapt to his feet as the hunter charged. The sorcerer raised the sword, the blade glowing as he drew out its full power. Lupus threw his arms over his face as Lotus released a blast of energy from the sword, knocking him back. The hunter disappeared in the blinding light of the explosion.

When the dust settled, Lupus stood quivering with uncontrollable rage, his cowl shredded by the blast, his bandages hanging raggedly from his hands. Even beneath his fur, the vein in his forehead visibly bulged with his ire.

Lotus felt his knees begin to weaken and he stumbled forward, his eyes falling in and out of focus. Every moment he stood became a torture; the sword had granted him its strength, but his aged body was tooweak to handle it.

'_I can't beat him,'_ he realized. _'His hate is too strong and he's carried it too long. I can't break through it.'_

Slowly, his gaze shifted away from Lupus and fell upon the cave entrance. The others sat just outside, fear and anxiety evident in their expressions. He saw Misty, tears in her eyes and a suddenly realized the mistake he had been making.

Taking a deep breath, he turned back to the hunter with a weak smile. He looked down at his weapon, then back. Sadly, he tossed Shimmerblade to the ground. Lupus stared for a long moment at the fallen sword, unsure of what it meant.

"I can't do it," Lotus said, brokenly. "How can I fight you? How could I wish more pain on someone who has suffered so much? It is not within me." The sorcerer fell to his knees, struggling for breath. "To live like that for so long; it must hurt so much. I feel so sorry for you. I feel . . . so sorry."

The others watched, horrified, as Lotus fell forward to the ground, weakened beyond the ability to stay up. Lupus stared for a long time at the fallen body, confused. He took a dazed step forward.

"I know what you're doing," he muttered, his voice trembling slightly. "You're trying to fool me. I know better than that. You're only trying to save yourself, but it won't work."

The hunter stopped before the prone body and stared down at it angrily. Looking back a moment, he saw his sword lying on the ground. Turning, he reached down with shaky hands and grasped hold of the blade. _'I won't be fooled,'_ he thought. _'Not by you.'_ Turning around, he raised his weapon and prepared to give the final blow.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl for everyone watching. The moment the sword began its decent toward Lotus, Misty threw herself over the old man's body with a defiant cry. The blade stopped, barely a hair's distance from her head.

Lupus's eyes quivered in shock at the thought of what he had almost done. He took a step back, lowering his sword. It wasn't Misty he saw, however. As the young girl looked back at him pleadingly, he once again saw his daughter. Tears built up in Lupus's eyes as he stared down on the image.

For a moment his face softened and he almost smiled. Morgan! She'd come back to him after so long; come to release him from the endless nightmare. He reached out to her, but as he drew near, the image faded away. It wasn't Morgan trying to convince him, only an illusion drawn out of his memories because of the girl's likeness. The coldness returned to his face. Only an illusion; nothing could free him from his purpose.

"Get out of the way, Misty," he ordered.

"I won't," she replied firmly.

"Why are you protecting him?" he demanded. "Why?"

Tears welled up in Misty's eyes. Dazed, the hunter stumbled backward, nearly dropping his sword in shock.

"Please stop it," she begged him. "Leave him alone. This isn't right. This isn't the man who murdered your family. That man is dead; he's dead and his bones have turned to dust by now. You have to let it go."

Lupus shook his head in denial, tormented by the conflicts of his torn mind; the hunter's will to kill screamed to be unleashed, but Lupus only wanted to believe that he could stop. He wanted to believe Misty's words, that it had to stop, but the hunter could never let go.

"I can't let go," he growled, determination creeping into his expression. "I can't!"

Misty stared calmly back at him, pleading softly. "You spoke to me about choice. You said that we all make choices in our lives that determine whether we're happy or miserable."

"We choose our fate," Lupus agreed.

"You can still choose to do the right thing. You have the power to change your fate, but you have to make that choice."

"But, Misty," he stuttered, his face wracked with bewilderment. "It is what I am."

"We all forget who we are sometimes," Misty told him, her voice breaking again, "but we don't have to loose ourselves forever. You've let others convince you that you don't have a choice. It's turning you into something you're not. Don't believe to them."

Lupus's mind whirled in chaos. He didn't want to kill anymore, but the hunter was only capable of killing. Nothing else remained for him to act on, not even his hate. Everything but the impulse to kill had faded out of his mind. He didn't want to kill, but what else could he do? Misty wanted him to make a choice that was not there for him.

"The hunter must hunt!" he cried desperately.

"Then don't be the hunter," Misty whispered through sobs. "You said that you found a part of yourself that you thought was dead. Be that person, the person who you really are, the person who is my friend. A sorcerer turned you into a monster on the outside, but that doesn't mean you have to be a monster inside. Listen to your heart. In your heart, you're a human being, just like me." Misty leaned her head down on Lotus's limp body. "And in their hearts, they're human, the same as you. They have loved ones of their own. They have families, wives and children. Grandchildren."

"Grandchildren?"

Misty looked back up, Lupus following her gaze until it came to rest on Lilly. For a moment, the meaning of her words would not take hold, but as the seconds droned on, realization came crashing upon him in waves of dread.

"Would you take away the only person she has left?" Misty asked, her voice a soft, sad whisper.

The sword slipped from Lupus's hand and clattered to the ground. He tried to deny it, refused to accept the relation between Lilly and the sorcerer. The hunter's purpose was to kill those who had taken his family. The hunter hunted those who destroyed families, he did not destroyed the families of those he hunted. It couldn't be true. But it was and he knew it.

The sorcerer was the girl's grandfather, the only person she had left. Had Misty not stopped him, he would have killed him, would have killed a child's only parent. Horrified, he realized that not only would he have taken away a child's parent, he already had many times before.

Looking down at his palms, he saw blood, but not just the blood of a loving grandfather. The blood of hundreds of parents stained his quivering hands. Carried on the cold wind, he heard the sobbing of many children, crying over their murdered fathers and mothers. Desperate to cut off the sound, he covered his ears with his hands, but the wailing only grew louder.

"What have I done?" he whimpered, dropping to his knees. "What have I done?"

Sobs of terrible realization wracked Lupus's body. Wrapping his head in his arms, he let his forehead fall to the ground in shock.

"Anna, Morgan," he cried. "I've committed murder in your names and stained your memory with the blood of innocent people. I'm sorry. I'm not worthy to be thought of as your husband or father. Forgive me. Forgive me."

Stunned, Ash and his friends came down from the cave, huddling around the broken-spirited hunter. Dokoto and the other dogs whined sadly, sharing in their master's pain. Sympathetically, Misty placed a hand on Lupus's back, but he recoiled in horror from her touch.

"No," he sobbed. "Don't try to comfort me. I don't deserve it."

Drawing back away, Misty felt her throat constrict at the pitiful sight. It was over now. Lupus had finally overcome his horrible fate, but now he could no longer hide from the truth; the truth that he was a murderer. She wished that she could stop the pain, could bring comfort to him, but she could not even begin to understand the depth of it. He had been buried so deep in torment that she knew of no way to dig him out.

She felt a warm hand on her back. Turning, she saw Ash looking at her. She stared back at him, unsure of what to do. Too sorrowful to speak, Misty wrapped her arms around her friend and wept. Not knowing what else to do, Ash returned the embrace, whispering comfort.

Before Misty could allow that comfort to take hold, an enraged voice shattered the sadness around them.

"You stupid girl!"


	12. Checkmate

12 Checkmate

Everyone turned fearfully at the sound of the voice that made their blood run cold. Furious, Jin'ei stalked slowly toward them, his fists clenched in rage. Ash and his friends backed away from the mad psychic and Lilly threw herself over her grandfather's body. Lupus leapt to his feet and put himself between the Jin'ei and the others.

"Leave her alone," he growled.

Chuckling, Jin'ei continued his threatening advance until he stood directly before the hunter. Menacingly, Jin'ei circled him. Suddenly, his expression became venomous.

"Worthless!" he shouted, throwing out his hand.

A blast of psychic energy sent Lupus reeling back. Not particularly interested in where the creature landed, Jin'ei turned his attention back to his true target. It took only a fraction of a second for Jin'ei to close the distance between himself and Misty, taking her by the shirt and slamming her against a tree ten feet behind her. Holding her up eye level with him, he scowled malignantly.

"I warned you not to interfere," he hissed, removing his glasses.

"Don't look at his eyes!" Lilly shouted urgently.

The warning came too late. Trapped like an insect in tree sap, Misty could already feel Jin'ei's golden eyes flowing over her. She struggled to breath, but it seemed even her lungs were paralyzed by his cold, cruel gaze. Slowly the amber surrounded her, freezing her in mind and body. Then it hardened.

Misty's pupils consumed her eyes, devouring the light of life in from them. With a twisted laugh, Jin'ei tossed the limp body to the ground. Ash rushed to his fallen friend, kneeling down beside her, gently holding her.

"What did you do to her?" he demanded.

"I have simply suspended her consciousness," Jin'ei replied, his voice devoid of emotion. "She will remain in this comatose state for as long as I see fit to leave her there." His voice turned acidic. "It is preferable to what I'm going to do to you."

Jin'ei started to put his glasses back on, but stopped. Shrugging, he tossed them away. "No need to hide my power now, is there?"

The esper advanced slowly and sinisterly toward Ash, his blood-and-amber eyes filled with malice. The boy stumbled backward in fear, his eyes darting about wildly in search of something he could use to defend himself. Jin'ei held up his hand, preparing for the kill, but stopped when he heard the hunter scream out his name. Turning, he saw Lupus tie the tattered bandages from his hand around his sword, locking it in his weakened grasp. A cold grin appeared on the psychic's face.

"Two children, an apprentice sorceress and an injured, dispirited warrior are all that stand between me and ultimate power?" he laughed, stroking his ear. "Fate has smiled on me." He looked to Ash. "I'll get to you in a second."

Jin'ei turned to face the hunter, slowly walking around until he stood directly in front of him, one eyebrow cocked in amusement. Lupus stood firm, gripping his sword in both hands as tight as he still could. Jin'ei sneered at him.

"Well," he mocked, "you're a miserable, pathetic excuse for a man. Or an animal. Or whatever." Jin'ei spread his arms out wide, exposing himself completely in an arrogant display of supremacy. "So, kill me."

Infuriated, Lupus howled with rage as he charged, sword raised high. Jin'ei smirked at the success of his taunt. He formed a ball of psychic energy in his hand.

"Bad dog!" he shouted, drawing his hand back. "Sit!"

Jin'ei released his psyonic bolt. The purple missile whistled through the air, striking Lupus in the chest with enough force to knock him from his feet to the ground. Before he could stand, Jin'ei threw out his hand, freezing the hunter's body with a psychic field.

"Lie down!" Jin'ei ordered.

A blast of mental energy threw Lupus onto his back, forcing an outline of his body to be impressed into the hard packed dirt. The hunter struggled with all his strength, but Jin'ei's psychic energy made it seem as if gravity pulled down on him fifty times harder. Slowly, Jin'ei walked a complete circle around the hunter's splayed body, chuckling. Jin'ei completed his insult by kneeling down over the Lupus and giving him kiss on the forehead. Rising to his feet, the esper drew his rapier, his expression hardening.

"Play dead," he hissed.

The blade plunged downward, slipping between Lupus's ribs and finding his heart, slicing it open as it forced its way out of his back. Lupus gasped, his body going rigid, then fell limp. Jin'ei wiggled the blade around a bit for good measure, then pulled it out, flinging the blood away with a single, quick stroke.

"And that," he remarked nonchalantly, turning to the others, "as they say, is that."

Confidently, he strolled toward the group, looking over the two boys with interest, stroking his ear. Drawing upon the strength of his aura, he filled the air with negative energies, hoping to force the children into submission by making them feel overwhelming despair. To his surprise, Brock charged at him. As the boy's fist came forward, Jin'ei held out his open hand and Brock's punch stopped short by a few inches.

"You don't have it," Jin'ei stated.

Brock's arm shot backward, popping out of its socket. He cried out in pain, grasping his shoulder as he staggered backward. Using two fingers to channel his energy, Jin'ei lifted him into the air and tossed him effortlessly away. He hit the ground hard and Lilly rushed to help him.

"You," Jin'ei ordered, pointing at Ash, "Come here."

The words carried the weight of Jin'ei's overbearing will, seeping into Ash's mind like cold water. He focused every thought to resisting the command, beads of sweat forming on his brow. His legs aching, he took a single step forward.

"Come!" Jin'ei ordered again, this time moving his hand in a beckoning motion.

Ash felt a tug, as though an invisible hand had taken him by the shirt. Against the physical pull and the mental barrage, the boy's will broke and he walked heavily toward the crazed esper.

"Not so fast!" cried a voice that almost seemed to gag on itself.

Jin'ei turned, losing his focus on the boy. Ash instantly realized that the psychic had released him and, freed of Jin'ei's power, he dashed back to help Brock.

Jin'ei stared in horror at what he saw. Lupus was standing, wavering from side to side on his feet. A gout of blood burst from his mouth as he coughed, oozing down his chin. Fire devoured the forest of his eyes as he raised his sword.

"That's right," Jin'ei chuckled, suddenly remembering the conversation between the hunter and Lotus he had eavesdropped on. "You can't be killed, can you? I guess I'll just have to break your body into little pieces."

Jin'ei held out his sword, leaving himself ridiculously open to attack. Mistakenly thinking Jin'ei an unskilled swordsmen, Lupus charged, aiming for Jin'ei's exposed lung. Jin'ei sidestepped the attack, allowing the hunter's inertia to carry him past, putting him off balance. As he turned unsteadily toward his opponent, the rapier sank deeply into his shoulder. Twirling around to pull the blade from his body, Lupus tried to strike again, but Jin'ei had followed the hunter's movements, and put his sword through his back, drawing it out with a cruel twist.

'_He's toying with me,'_ Lupus thought, realizing that Jin'ei had deliberately missed puncturing his organs.

Lupus hopped back as he turned, then charged in, focusing on the esper's body instead of his sword. Jin'ei dodged with wide, seemingly clumsy movements, each time exposing one of his vitals. For every strike the hunter made, however, the psychic was one step ahead of him, flirting with death, but keeping out of its arms. Enraged at the overt display of arrogance, Lupus struck too hard and his sword went wild. He paid for the mistake with a harmless, but insulting cut on the side of his neck.

---

"We've got to help him," Brock groaned, trying to rise to his feet.

"No," Lilly warned. "You're too injured to fight."

She grabbed the case she had brought with her and opened it up, removing the jars and bags of components.

"Help me with the spell," she insisted.

Lilly's words rang in Jin'ei's mind, drawing his attention away from the battle for only a second. That one second, however, was all it took for Lupus to strike. Jin'ei saw the blade coming down for his head and attempted to sidestep the attack, but too late. Lupus's blade came out red.

"MY EAR!" Jin'ei screamed, throwing his hand over the bleeding extremity and staggering back in shock. "YOU CUT OFF MY EAR!"

Jin'ei pulled his blood-drenched hand away, revealing the wound. The upper half of his left ear had been sheared off, leaving a ragged edge. Enraged, Jin'ei charged. Lupus raised his sword to parry the blow, but Jin'ei's rapier slipped around it and sank into his stomach. Lupus tried to jump away, but as he did, Jin'ei dragged his sword across the hunter's belly, tearing it open. Lupus threw his arm over the wound to keep his organs from spilling out.

Jin'ei gave his opponent no time to react, throwing out his hand and releasing a volley of psychic bolts that struck Lupus squarely in the face in rapid succession. His head lolling freely, Lupus dropped to the ground, unconscious.

"Perhaps that will keep you down for a while," Jin'ei remarked, spitting on Lupus's body.

The esper whirled around to face the others. He stalked slowly toward them, his knuckles white from the grip on his rapier.

"What's this about a spell?" Jin'ei growled.

Lilly's head jerked up in surprise. She saw Lupus lying on the ground, blood pouring from his gash and her expression turned to one of horror. Pikachu hopped onto Ash's shoulder as the boy rose to his feet.

"Finish it," he whispered. "We'll try and distract him."

Lilly opened her mouth to protest, but Ash had already rushed the approaching psychic. Quickly, she turned back to her spell, mixing the ingredients together as fast as she could without being careless.

Jin'ei smiled as the young boy bolted toward him, drawing back his blade for a fatal thrust. Ash stopped abruptly and his pokemon leapt from his shoulder onto Jin'ei's. Unprepared for such an unpredictable move, the esper turned his focus to Pikachu, grasping futilely, but the lighting mouse had already leapt off. At the same moment, Ash dived forward, rolling underneath Jin'ei's open legs and catching his companion as he rose to his feet. The esper turned around just in time to see Ash's foot shoot up in between his legs.

Jin'ei howled in agony, the entire lower half of his body going numb as he stumbled backward. Infuriated, Jin'ei threw out his hand to fire a psychic missile, but he never found the chance. His head jerked back as Dokoto leapt into attack, chomping on his long hair. Quickly, the rest of the pack struck, and the esper disappeared in a mass of fur and teeth. A sudden blast of light hurled the dogs away as Jin'ei unleashed his furry. Dokoto landed in a heap next to Lilly and Brock.

Ash rushed back to his friends, seeing Lupus back on his feet. The hunter tore a long strip of cloth from the remains of his garment, wrapping it around the wound on his gut and tying it tight.

The two opponents glared at each other, each one's rage just as great as the other's. With a cry of rage, Lupus burst forward, his sword held high. Jin'ei, his patience lost, drew back his rapier, surrounding the blade with a field of mental energy. As the hunter's stroke fell, Jin'ie's blade came forward, snapping Lupus's weapon on impact and continuing on to cut into his arm, right to the bone. Lupus tried to back away, Putting his other hand over his arm, but Jin'ei released a blast of psychic power, hurling him like a stone. The hunter struck a tree, blood splattering wildly as his head smashed against the trunk.

Ash saw Lupus fall flaccidly to the ground, realizing he had again lost consciousness. Lilly's spell was almost complete, but with the hunter out of the fight, she would never finish it in time. As the crazed esper turned to face them, Ash nodded to his pikachu.

"Thundershock!" he ordered.

The bolt of lightning arced toward Jin'ei, but, still weakened from its fight with Dokoto, Pikachu's attack barely registered in Jin'ei's mind. Ash charged in to attack, but Jin'ei caught him on the chin with the back of his hand, knocking him to the ground. Jin'ei pinned the boy with his foot and smiled triumphantly. Seeing his victory approach, he sheathed his sword to show his confidence.

Making a quick glance back at the others, he saw Lilly reach for the bag with the final ingredient. Casting out his hand, he used his mental powers to rip it from Lilly's grasp, pulling it to his own.

"You shouldn't play with filthy things," he chuckled. "Let's get rid of this, shall we?"

The plastic bag shriveled in his hand, evaporating in a small burst of flame before it ever began its descent. Seeing their expressions, Jin'ei laughed derisively, confident in his victory as he turned back to Ash.

"What do we do now?" Brock asked quietly.

Lilly stared at the pungent smelling mixture in the jar in despair. Only one ingredient missing and it was one that didn't even influence the effects of the spell. Why now? They had come so close, only to loose now? It wasn't right. She slammed her fists against the ground in frustration.

"There has to be something we can do," Brock said hopelessly.

Lilly fought to keep her despair from pushing her into tears. Lupus was injured to such a point that would've killed any normal person, Misty was trapped in a state of suspended animation, Ash was about to die and Jin'ei was about to achieve everything he had ever dreamed of. It was all so wrong.

Suddenly, a flash of insight struck the young magician as she remembered the lessons her grandfather had given her. With a new hope for a chance to win, Lilly turned to Brock, smiling.

"Catalyzing ingredients can be substituted," she told him, almost forgetting to keep her voice down. "If we can find something similar, we can complete the spell."

As the realization sunk in, Brock clenched his fists to contain his pleasure.

"It was hair," he said. "Black hair."

Hearing their words, Dokoto lifted its head, grunting weakly. The dog struggled to its feet, wavering on its weakened legs as it ambled painfully over to them. Dokoto laid down beside Lilly, whining submissively. With a slight squeal of delight, Lilly put her arms around the hound's muscular neck appreciatively. She quickly plucked out a few strands of the dog's fur and dropped them into her jar, quickly removing the spoon from her case and stirring the mixture as she'd been instructed.

---

Caught in a sense of euphoria, Jin'ei sneered at Ash with satisfaction. Everything was exactly as the psychic had hoped and he would soon become the most powerful being on Earth. Jin'ei wanted to prolong his moment of gloating over his adversaries, especially the young boy he held pinned beneath his foot, but knew each second that passed that Cerebral was not in his possession increased the danger around him. Without the medallion, he was still vulnerable and Lupus could awaken at any moment.

He gave Ash only a few seconds to let him fully absorb the understanding of his impending death, then held out his hand. In an act of sheer desperation, Ash gripped at the ground, tearing out a clump of dirt and grass, and threw it toward Jin'ei's face. With a short shriek of alarm, the esper covered his face with his hand to stop it. Though the succeeded in deflecting it, the distraction gave Ash enough leeway to push up with his chest, throwing Jin'ei off balance.

Jin'ei took a step back to steady himself, giving Ash enough time to scramble away from him. Angrily, he reached for the boy. Leaping up at the psychic, Pikachu sank its teeth into Jin'ei's hand, causing him to cry out. Wincing, he tore the rodent from his hand, ripping off a piece of his own flesh in the process. Furious at the injury, he prepared to launch a psyonic missile at the pokemon, but saw Ash coming toward him before he had the chance. Twisting, he allowed the punch to sail past him, then caught the boy in the gut with his own fist.

Ash staggered back, clutching his stomach and gasping for breath. Jin'ei took a moment to suck on the bite mark Pikachu had left on his hand, giving Ash enough time to glance at his friends. At that moment, Lilly's spell activated, releasing a stream of gray vapors. Quickly, she stopped the jar with a cork and rose to her feet.

"Ash, get away!" she warned as she threw the jar at Jin'ei.

Ash and Pikachu dived away from Jin'ei as the jar hurtled through the air toward him. Hearing Lilly's words, Jin'ei glanced at them for a moment, then back to Ash. The three friends were beginning to shout out in exhilaration as the jar fell toward the ground at Jin'ei's feet, but at the last moment before it hit, Jin'ei ducked down and snatched the jar, abruptly halting their celebration.

"Were you planning a little surprise for me?" Jin'ei jeered, relishing the horror that the three of them were showing. "Fools. No one ever takes Artemis Jin'ei by surprise."

Laughing Jin'ei tossed the jar into the air, juggling it in shameless ridicule. As the jar came down, Jin'ei prepared to catch it, but at the same instant, the broken hilt of Lupus's sword hurled through the air and struck his hand. Gasping in pain, he took hold of his hand. Growling, he shot a venomous glare at Lupus, who sat on unsteady knees, barely supporting his weight with one hand. The esper opened his hand to form a psychic missile, but stopped, suddenly remembering the jar.

Time slowed to an agonizing crawl for Jin'ei as he reached down in a desperate, futile attempt to grasp jar before it hit the ground. With a half-horrified, half-disbelieving cry of protest, he watched as his hand missed catching it by mere inches. A thousand cracks spread over the jar's surface as it impacted with the ground, expelling shards of glass in every direction. No longer contained, the smoke exploded outward, swirling around Jin'ei in a thick cloud.

Jin'ei cupped his hand over his mouth, coughing uncontrollably as the vapor seeped into his lungs. He dropped to his knees, feeling his mental strength slipping slowly away from him.

'_NO!'_ he screamed in his mind, instantly realizing the effects of the spell. _'This can't be happening! My power! My wonderful power!'_

Ash, his friends and Lupus watched with a sense of justified satisfaction as the esper disappeared from sight in the vapors. Finally, each of them knew, it was finished. Without his psychic abilities, the four of them were confident that they could overpower him together. At last, Jin'ei would be defeated.

Suddenly, a dull boom shook the air and a flash of light forced them all to turn away. When they looked back, the smoke had turned an odd shade of light purple. Realizing that all eyes stared questioningly at her, Lilly shrugged in confusion.

"I don't think it was supposed to do that," she admitted. "Oh, my word, look!"

The smoke cloud dissipated, blown away by a wisp of wind. Jin'ei's blood-and-amber eyes slowly opened. Everything seemed somehow different to him. The forest appeared brighter and clearer to him and the shades of color seemed different somehow. Dazed and bewildered, he glanced around at the four people. They were all eyeing him strangely, he noticed with a twinge of resentment.

"What are you staring at?" he growled.

Jin'ei tried to rise, but doing so made his legs become unbalanced and he fell back to his hands. Glancing down in confusion, he saw a pair of cat-like paws, coated in a layer of lavender-colored fur. Slowly, comprehension found its way to his mind, filling it with dread. The paws were _his_.

Jin'ei's eyes widened in horror, his brain refusing to accept the information they were sending it. Whipping his head back, he saw a long, agile body with sleek, muscular legs and a slender tail, all covered with the same lavender fur. He reached up with a paw-_his paw_-and felt his face; felt the sensitive whiskers, the blunt nose and two ears-one long and wide, the other hacked off halfway out.

"I don't believe it," Brock said, struggling to hold back his laughter.

"Jin'ei," Lilly stuttered, "He . . . he's . . ."

"He's an espeon," Ash blurted, not bothering to conceal his amusement.

Jin'ei circled around, screaming in protest as he looked at himself, but he had already come to understand the truth. He was no longer himself.

"Girl!" he growled, whirling toward Lilly, his eyes twitching with hate. "Look what you've done to me, you stupid . . ."

His words lodged in his throat, frozen in terror like the rest of him as he saw Dokoto slowly advance toward him, teeth bared. Backing away, he heard another growl behind him. Glancing around, he saw the pack closing in around him, each dog prepared to tear him apart for the pain he had caused their master. Jin'ei swallowed hard, realizing the hopelessness of his situation. He took one moment to glare at Ash.

"Mark my words, boy," he promised, "this isn't over!"

With that, Jin'ei snapped his powerful legs forward, leaping over the dogs and rushing off into the undergrowth. The pack prepared to give chase, but Lupus called them off.

"Leave him alone," he ordered. "He's not our concern now."

The hunter staggered brokenly toward Misty. Distracted in the exhilaration of victory, the others had forgotten about their young friend, who still lay comatose on the soft grass, her eyes staring sightlessly forward. Tears welling in his eyes, Lupus dropped to his knees beside her body. Lovingly, he ran his fingers through her soft hair. Leaning forward, he laid his forehead on hers, weeping aloud.

"I've failed you," he sobbed. "I've failed you just as I failed Morgan. God damn me for being such a stubborn fool. If only I hadn't been so blind."

Ash and the others looked on in despair. What would happen to her? Would Misty be trapped like that forever? Clenching his teeth in frustration, Ash turned to Lilly.  
"Isn't there some way to help her?" he demanded.

Lilly looked back at him helplessly. "I don't know," she answered, her voice barely audible. "It was Jin'ei's power that did this. It would take someone with more power than he had to undo it, but I've no idea if anyone really had more power than Jin'ei."

Ash gripped at his hair in despair as he looked back to Misty, feeling his throat constrict with sorrow. Though they had defeated him, it seemed Jin'ei had still won a battle. It was a small victory, but one that came with a high price of failure. Too high.

"Wait," Ash exclaimed suddenly. He again turned to Lilly, who, just as the rest of them, stared at him in surprise. "Didn't your grandfather say that Cerebral could give a person psychic powers?"

It took a moment for the boy's words to get a firm grasp on Lilly's mind. "Yes," she replied, breaking into a smile. "He also said that the powers it would grant would be far greater than anything ever seen before."

Ash withdrew the medallion from his pocket. Cerebral glowed softly, seemingly waiting in eager anticipation for its possessor's command. Lupus drew back a bit as Ash sat down beside Misty, clutching the Sentient in his hand. Staring into Misty's unfocused eyes, he concentrated.

"Wake up," he commanded. "Wake up, Misty."

Cerebral glowed brightly for a moment, then faded. Gradually, the light came back to the young girl's eyes, her pupils slowly shrinking back to normal size. She slowly sat up, groaning as though being awoken from rest too soon. Blinking, she looked at everyone gathered around her.

"What happened?" she asked, nonplussed.

Sobbing joyfully, Lupus threw his arms around her. Confused, Misty continued to glance around.

"What about Jin'ei?" she asked suddenly.

"He's gone," Lupus said. "You don't need to fear him anymore."

Uncomfortable, Misty pushed him away. She turned to Ash. "What happened?"

Ash simply smiled, too happy to find the words to speak.

"Don't worry," Lilly assured her. "We'll tell you everything. Right now, however, I think it's time we went home."

"Pi- pikachu!" Pikachu agreed.


	13. Saying Goodbye

Epilogue: Saying Goodbye

"Tell whoever's ringing the gong to knock it off," Lotus murmured as he sat up in bed, rubbing his sore shoulder. "Lilly?"

"I'm here, Grandfather," Lilly replied, taking his hand.

Lotus looked around for a moment, realizing that he was back at his cottage. He looked back to his granddaughter and smiled a puzzled smile. Lilly smiled back.

"Did I miss anything important?" the old man asked, scratching the back of his head.

Everyone laughed heartily, Lotus-after a few moments-loudest of all. The aged sorcerer pulled his blankets aside, letting his feet hang over the edge of his bed and stared at his granddaughter inquisitively. Absently plucking at the hairs on his chin, he listened intently as Lilly explained to him everything that had happened after he had passed out, Ash and Brock adding a few details where they felt it was needed.

Lotus stopped them only twice to quickly make sure he understood completely. When they had finished, the old man sat quietly, running over the story several times in his mind, considering the implications of everything, what it all meant.

"So," he said at last, "Jin'ei became an espeon?"

He burst out laughing, suddenly, surprising the others, who joined him quickly. After a moment, the old man put a hand over his eyes.

"Well," he stated, still chuckling slightly, "I wonder what the Conclave will have to say about this unexpected turn of events. I don't think anyone will find it worth the time to try and track him down now. And, it seems, we've save Amelia from having to make some pretty painful decisions. You've done well, Lilly. And all of you."

Lilly grinned with pride at her grandfather's compliment, but Lotus noticed a trace of concern in his granddaughter's mirthful expression. Looking her in the eye, he prompted her to speak her mind.

"Why did it happen?" she asked. "Jin'ei's transformation, I mean? And how long will the spell last."

Lotus leaned back slightly, putting a finger on his chin in thought, looking up at the ceiling. He hummed a happy tune as he considered Lilly's explanation of the spell's preparation. After a moment, he threw up his hands resignedly.

"I can't really say for sure," he explained. "I'd have to do a bit of research to find out exactly, but I believe it has something to do with your substitution. You have to be very careful when substituting spell components. Every time you do, there's a small chance that it will have unexpected side effects. Judging from how radical a result you ended up with, I'm guessing you must have put in a bit more than the proper amount."

Lilly blushed slightly, remembering how she had simply grabbed a tuft of hair from Dokoto without taking note of how much she was tossing in.

"To answer your second question," Lotus continued. "The main effect of the spell was to be permanent, so there's a high probability that the side effects will also be permanent. Jin'ei will simply have to learn to cope," the old man added with a chuckle. "It's almost certain that he'll spend the rest of his life walking around on four legs."

"I don't think that's very funny," remarked a subdued voice.

Surprised, Lotus turned around to see Lupus sitting in back corner of the room, his legs folded and head down. Lupus rose to his feet and walked pensively toward him. He kneeled down before the sorcerer, bowing low with his forehead to the floor.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, his voice passive and broken. "I have caused you great pain and have said many things which I cannot take back. I do not ask you to forgive me for what I have done; that would be far more than I deserve. For the evil I have done you, I will freely accept any punishment which you and your council see fit to inflict upon me."

Lotus's eyes narrowed as he looked upon the once powerful hunter, tapping his fingers against each other in thought. Taking a deep breath, he let it roll out slowly as he considered his choice. Pikachu squeaked in protest and Lilly put a defensive hand on her grandfather's shoulder, but Lotus held out his hand to silence them.

"Lupus," he declared. "You have unjustly attempted to take my life, you have attacked me without cause, you have threatened my family and those in my care, you have cursed my name and, most importantly," Lupus winced from the harshness of the sorcerer's tone, "you stopped Jin'ei from killing us all."

Lupus looked up at Lotus in confusion. The old man's angry expression melted away into a calm, understanding smile.

"I will forgive you," he said. "You acknowledge your mistakes and have apologized for them. That, my friend, is good enough for me. It would do me no good to bear a grudge against you."

Lupus's thoughts and emotions were in chaos. Part of him felt glad for Lotus's decision to forgive him, but at the same time, he felt confused. Why should this man, of all people, choose to forgive him, even call him friend? The old man saw the obvious turmoil on Lupus's face.

"I told you when we first met that I had no desire to harm you," Lotus explained. "My only enemy was the hunter and my goal was to free the two people he held hostage." Smiling at Misty, the sorcerer added, "Sometimes the simple innocence of a child can touch lives in greater ways than the words of those who believe they are wise. You are again free, free to choose the purpose of your existence. I can see that you wish to change your ways; it is evident in your voice and in your countenance. Furthermore, unlike many others that have been in similar circumstances, you are willing to accept the consequences of your actions, regardless of whatever they may be. As such, I do not believe that any punishment will be necessary. What you have gone through, and will still go through," he added with importance, "is punishment enough."

"The road to penitence is a long and difficult journey," the aged sorcerer continued. "You must follow that road to the very end if you are to have any hope of breaking your curse."

Lupus stared at him blankly for a moment. "Do you mean there's a way?"

Lotus nodded solemnly, his expression grave. "Regardless of the reason for which you were cursed," he told him, "this spell is fueled by hatred. Aside from the obvious effects, the Bestial Curse will remain effective for as long as its caster bears hatred against you. Since the one who cursed you is obviously deceased, the embodiment of his hatred remains with you in your physical form, but if you remove the reason for that hate, if you atone for your sins, then the spell will end and you will be free."

Lupus lowered his head in shame. "I'm such a fool," he muttered miserably. "If I hadn't been so consumed with my own hatred, I could have ended my torment centuries ago. Instead, I spent all those years adding to the burden I must atone for."

"Stop that now," Lotus ordered, startling Lupus. "Do not give in to despair. Despair is the enemy of hope and without hope, you will never succeed. You must believe that you can do this task, no matter how hopeless it may seem, and continue to work to correct your past mistakes. Then, and only then, will you be able to rejoin your family in the solace of death."

Lupus sat in quiet reflection for a long moment. Thousands of people had died by his hands. How long, he wondered, would it take him to make up for it all? After centuries of cold-blooded murder, he would have centuries of ceaseless labor ahead of him.

_'But if that is the price of my mistakes,'_ he thought, _'then so be it.'_

Lupus rose to his feet, bowing politely.

"I thank you for everything," he said, "but I feel it is time that I take my leave."

"Now, hold on a minute," Lilly protested. "You can't leave now."

"Three times yesterday you received injuries from Jin'ei that would have killed a normal person," Brock added.

"You should at least take a few days to rest," Ash agreed.

Lupus looked around at the others. Each of them nodded in affirmation, each asking him to stay. As he realized what it meant, Lupus felt something for the first time in over two thousand years. Freedom. Like a nightmare fleeing from the coming dawn, the hunter-the part of him that had been the hunter-slowly faded away into the darkness of oblivion. In appearance, he was still a monster, but that no longer mattered. Inside, in his heart, he was human.

---

Three days later, Lupus was prepared to begin his path to atonement and Ash and his friends were ready to continue their own journey to Blackthorn City and the tournament. Outside the small cottage, they all met for their final farewells.

Once again wrapped up in his bandages, Lupus kneeled down before Misty and removed his scarf, handing it to the young girl.

"Keep this," he said. "You saved me from a fate of endless self-loathing and showed me that there is always a chance to change your path. I want you to have this, so that wherever you go, a part of me will always be with you."

Misty accepted the gift silently, unable to get words past the lump in her throat. Holding back her tears in front of her friends, Misty allowed Lupus to embrace her for a moment, then pushed him back. He smiled, understanding her intention.

"Ash," he said, turning to the boy. "Give me Cerebral. It will be much safer in the hands of one who cannot be killed and you will be much safer if you aren't carrying it."

Ash hesitated, then drew the medallion from his pocket. As usual, it glowed softly and warmly, communicating its contentment in its usual fashion. Ash held it out and Lupus took it from him, hanging it around his neck and hiding it beneath his cowl.

"I noticed your sword is broken," Lotus noted.

Detaching Shimmerblade from his belt, he handed the sword to Lupus. Lupus shook his head.

"I don't want to hold a sword again," he replied.

"Do you think I wanted to wield it in the first place?" the old man asked. "Good heavens, no! In that situation, however, I didn't have any other choice if I was to help you. You'll find that you, too, will get into situations that leave you with no other options. If not for the sake of the Sentient, you'll find that there are people you wish to protect and for that, Shimmerblade will serve you. Use it only to defend that which is right in this world and never kill with it unless there is no other way."

Lupus took the magical sword with a solemn nod, shoving it into his sash. To the others, he bowed respectfully, then turned to leave.

"Wait," Misty asked. "Will I ever see you again?"

Lupus smiled at her. "I don't know," he admitted. "I have a lot of work to do, but I'm no longer the beast I once was. We may meet again someday."

"I hope so," Misty replied and all the others voiced their agreement.

With a final farewell, Lupus started off down the road, prepared to face whatever hardships would come on his journey to find forgiveness. He stopped partway down the path, turning back to them with a smile. Throwing his head back, he let out a howl. Not the same feral cry he had shown Jin'ei, but a howl of triumph, filled with hope and freedom. Dokoto and his pack joined in the chorus, coming at their master's call from all directions to form a circle. As Lupus ended his cry, he and the pack bolted off of trail and disappeared into the forest.

"Do you think he'll actually be able break his curse?" Lilly asked.

"That, my dear," Lotus answered, "is up to him. The blood of innocent people is not an easy thing to wash from your hands, but it can be done with hard work and a strong enough desire. It may take another two millennia, but I think he will. I truly believe he will."

Ash continued to stare off into the forest for a moment, thinking to himself. So much had happened that it seemed strange that only six days had passed since Pikachu had found the medallion. Now that it was over, he could finally go on to the tournament without fear. Clearing his throat, he started forward.

"Come on," he said to his friends. "Let's get going."

---

Ash and his friends chattered excitedly as they came out of the forest, Blackthorn City awaiting them not far in the distance, unaware of the amber-eyed, one-eared espeon that watched them from above.

Seated comfortably in a tree overlooking the path, Jin'ei looked down on the companions making their way to the tournament. His eyes narrowed angrily as he thought of the humiliation he had suffered. Extending his claws, he scratched the branch deeply to vent his frustration.

"You've won boy," he hissed. "For now. But don't think for a second that I've given up. I am not so easily beaten."

He hopped down from the tree and started back toward his home. He stopped before the city had disappeared from sight behind the trees and glanced over his shoulder.

"You haven't seen the last of Artemis Jin'ei," he promised. "Once I've learned to make use of this body and have shifted the odds in my favor, I'll be back for you. On that day, I will see to it that you regret the day you crossed me."

With an irate swish of his tail, he turned away from the city and continued through the forest, quickly beginning to wish he hadn't lost his ability to teleport. With such short legs, it was going to be a long walk home.

Of course, he realized, it did give him plenty of time to consider what he would to Ash and his friends, particularly Ash. When he returned home, he'd have Rogers contact his old acquaintance, Giovanni. The leader of Team Rocket owed him a favor and this would be a good way to repay him for his services.

Once he had decided on how his vengeance would be accomplished, he began to consider how his new form would affect his life. He certainly couldn't go back to work as he was now; couldn't risk having any more people know of his situation than already did. He would have to fake his death, easily enough done, and legally transfer everything he had to his butler. If he managed his wealth carefully, he'd be able to afford a smaller house, but what would happen when his fortune finally ran dry? Rogers would get a job to help with that. His butler had always been loyal to him.

Catherine, on the other hand, would probably leave him; not that it really mattered to him anyway, he realized with a chuckle. She was of no use to him anymore and could easily be discarded. Perhaps he would leave her with enough money to stand on. Then again, perhaps not. He shouldn't give her any kind of reward if she couldn't fulfill her purpose.

Jin'ei was so focused on his own thoughts that he didn't even notice that he'd been seen.

"Wow!" a shrill voice called out. "An espeon!"

Jin'ei's eyes widened and his jaw dropped in surprise. Twice now, he'd been caught of guard and within only a few days. Before he had any time to consider his uncharacteristically careless actions, however, he felt a small, round object strike his shoulder and then he disappeared in a flash of red light.

The pokeball, with Artemis Jin'ei trapped helplessly inside, fell to the ground. The young, red-haired boy retrieved it and placed it into his pack.

"I can't believe my luck," he beamed, marveling at his prize. "Catching such a rare pokemon like that." A broad grin stretched across his freckled face. "And on my first day out, too!"


	14. Reflection

Reflection

After writing my first Fanfiction, The Path Of Honor, looking back I had felt as though I hadn't really done the best I could have on it, which disappointed me somewhat. At some time after that, I decided that I would do another one, putting all of my effort into it. I chose to do another Pokemon fic because, quite frankly, I enjoy writing stuff based on the show. This is because the show itself has so many concepts that are left open that I have incredible freedom to move my story in whatever direction I wish, yet am still challenged to uphold the rules of that world.

And after submitting my second fanfic, I seem to have decided to work on it a little more. Why? Apparently, I don't know how to follow my own advice. Don't keep fiddling with your projects for a long time. Know when to call it good and move on. This was just a pocket project, despite all the experience I actually gained out of it, and I really should move on. But, I guess all those little story flaws that I caught looking back on it were too much to bear. So here I am again, cleaning up my first mistakes.

Planning and Preparation

I began to write an outline and a basic character list, but my first ideas didn't work out too well. I really wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it. Then, one day, I had programmed the VCR to record something for me while I was out and my younger brother changed the channel to watch one of his own shows without changing it back. You can guess what was recorded instead.

While the episode, _Hocus Pokemon_, in and of itself was very disappointing, it introduced a new area of ideas to me. I have a sort of attraction to magic in the fantasy setting, which is why these ideas appealed to me. I began to develop ideas about a ruling council of sorcerers, kept secret from the rest of the world to protect themselves from the easily frightened and misunderstanding general public. From there, I began to write a story based on those ideas.

As I began the new outline, however, I found that there were aspects of it that I really didn't like. Two of the key characters just didn't seem to fit in the story correctly, while the overall direction of the plot just wasn't interesting to me. In the end, I scrapped my entire first outline and completely changed two of the main characters.

As I began to write the story, I began to feel that I was wasting my time. Since it wasn't something I could officially publish, I just couldn't bring myself to put my whole heart into the story. If not for the people who insisted that I continue after I submitted the first chapter to test it, I would have stopped then and there. Several times afterward I considered dropping the project, but, after writing chapter eight, I realized that I wasn't writing this just to get an audience's reaction, I was writing it because I enjoyed writing it.

In writing the second draft, I read through the story several times, picking away at it until I had torn apart every hole in the plot's logic. The next step was deciding how to fix it. Each moment in the story has its own feel and rhythm and I couldn't just go in and screw around with it carelessly. In spite of appearances, the story is actually very delicate and fixing it was a lot like picking up shards of broken glass. In the process, I probably cut my self a few times.

Characters

For this story, I tried to better assimilate all of the main characters into the plot than I did in my first story, which I think I pulled off to some degree of success. Getting into these characters was a fun experience. While they might seem like simple characters at a first glance, there is actually quite a bit to them and when put together, you have a lot of room to interesting character interaction. While I stuck to the main personality traits, I tried to be a little conservative with the characters. This may have prevented some of the slapstick from the show, it provided me with other moments that were just as humorous, more so for me as I don't particularly like slapstick.

I also tried to pay more attention to the pokemon than I did last time, though I've noticed that they still conveniently disappear from time to time if I don't need them to do anything. Though they are basically animals, each of the pokemon has their own simple personalities. Once you get those down, they flow quite smoothly through the story, making them interesting editions to the plot.

Artemis Jin'ei: initially, Jin'ei was a sadistic sociopath who was seeking the power of The Sentient so that he could have more power to torture people. There were two problems with this. The first problem I found out when I purchased the third volume of the Rurouni Kenshin OAV. There is a character from RK called Jine Udo who was almost identical in personality to Jin'ei. There is a difference in pronunciation of the names (Jin'ei, I think, is French and therefore pronounced _Shin_-ay and I may not even be spelling it correctly), but on paper, it's not so easily identified. I didn't want anyone who had seen RK to identify the two characters together. The second problem was that I just plain didn't like his character. I found it difficult really enjoy writing about him.

In most cases, I despise Disney films, but when my sister decided to watch 101 Dalmatians, the solution came to me. I'm very anti-fashion, so the idea of having a fashion designer as a villain really stuck in my mind. From then on, Jin'ei developed from a psychotic murderer to an arrogant, well-bred aristocrat.

While Jin'ei is certainly not the personal favorite of my villains, he is certainly one of my most interesting. As I began to develop his character, I found that I really wanted my audience to hate this character. He became a cruel, domineering control freak. In all his relationships with others, he wants to be the one in charge. Even with his own wife, you can see this. He didn't particularly care one way or the other if Catherine was there, but it mattered greatly to _her_ whether or not she had his money. Jin'ei realized this and used it to manipulate her into complete obedience. This, I'm certain, was enough to make the female side of my audience passionately despise him. I'm hoping our values haven't degraded enough that the male half doesn't at least feel a strong aversion to him, but I've no idea how it really comes across.

Another thing I put to Jin'ei was his derisive attitude. Even in fighting, he displays his belief in his own superiority by openly showing he feels confident enough to not take it seriously. Everything Jin'ei does is calculated to cause the greatest insult to his opponents. Having been forced to deal with similar people, I know that a lot of people will absolutely loathe him for this.

I hate the cold, which is probably why I made Jin'ei a cold-themed villain. When I describe Jin'ei's appearance and actions, I continually used terms that people associate with snow and ice. He always dresses in cold colors; white, blue and gray. He always looks at others "coldly" or "icily" and he often hisses and slithers like a snake (a cold-blooded animal). I also referred to him by his last name only, which only serves to make him seem even more distant, since even the narrator can't seem to get on a first name basis with him.

I added a personality quirk to him about halfway through writing; his tendency to stroke his ear. It was something that I felt gave another level of depth to his character and I had a very good reason why he had such a quirk. Unfortunately, I didn't write it down, so I can't recall what it is. Remembering to put it in really irritated me, though, which is why I had Lupus cut Jin'ei's ear off at the very end of the story.

Lotus: Lotus is a kind of mix between Tom Bombidil of Lord of the Rings, and Fizban the Fabulous from Dragonlance. Like good old Tom, he always has a song in his heart and often lets that song come to his lips. Like Fizban, he's absent minded and, at times, completely wacky, but capable of become extremely serious if the situation demands it.

As the story went on, Lotus developed into a stronger character than just a clone of famous fantasy story characters. I first realized it after the first encounter with the hunter. When I'm really into my story as I'm typing, I get so in character that I don't think about what I'm writing, I just let it flow out. The end result is that what comes out is what would be most natural to the characters involved. To my surprise, I suddenly found the old man crying when he thought that he had killed Lupus. I thought about removing it at first, but on further reflection, I realized that that was just the kind of person he was.

Lotus had a lot of ridiculously long-winded thought shots. He always had to consider everything involved in his decision before he makes it and there tends to be a large amount of lengthy pauses when he is involved. This was, however, a key attribute to his character that I simply had to accustom myself to. Most of his thought shots aren't actually necessary to the plot in any particular way, but I think they give a strong impression of his character. The other option was leaving you wondering during those long pauses and as wacky as the old guy appears at first, you never can be quite sure if what he's thinking is actually related to what's going on.

One thing that I have left in is a short, probably overlooked gag in the third chapter. Lotus makes an odd comment about his socks. This joke is, of course, not actually funny, but the others still laugh at it. The reasoning behind this is that the audience should be wondering what they could have been talking about that would get them to laugh at such a gag. This I find funny, but I'm not sure if the audience gets it. Comments on this would be greatly appreciated.

All and all, this was a character I really loved working with and I consider him one of my story's strongest assets.

Lilly: this spunky little magician was the key link between the main characters and the concept that I wanted to present. In my finalized outline, she actually had very little mention and could probably been dropped from the plot entirely without needing to make too many adjustments for her absence. As the story went on, however, I found a few ways to make use of her more effectively and ended up liking her almost as much as I liked her grandfather.

Information about Lilly I had gathered from the show and the research I did in preparation for the writing was exceedingly limited. At first, I felt a little uncomfortable about including her in the story, but then I decided that the lack of information simply left more room to develop her as was needed to make the story work.

From her appearance (and her mild British accent), it can be concluded that this character was obviously created for the purpose of trying to leech off of theHarry Potter craze, which was one of the particularly disappointing aspects of the episode. I automatically decided I would try to separate her from Harry Potter in the mind of my audience. To do this, I used my inferences to develop a past that was suitable to explain her life with her grandfather, yet held as little similarities to Rowling's character as possible.

At first, I considered have her living with her grandfather simply to train, perhaps visiting her parents on holidays and summers. As she developed, however, she became very much like her grandfather, but to a lesser degree, suggesting that she had been raised almost exclusively by Lotus from a very young age. So, I had her parents killed in a car crash, which gave me a whole new assortment of options for her character.

One of the things I had gathered from the show was that she was a bit of a ditz. In my experience, people are like that for only two reasons. One is that they're complete airheads. Besides being just plain irritating, I didn't think that this would work because I couldn't see a total moron as being able to study magic in the way that I envisioned it. The other reason is that they always want to make people happy. There seems to be something about being continually upbeat that prevents you from being completely on the ball all of the time. This option works much better, both giving her a reason to study magic and fitting in with the death of her parents.

Amusing, isn't it. When I just sit down and explain it, one would probably still see a lot of similarity between Harry and Lilly, yet in the flow of the story, they are such different characters. I have one thing to attribute this phenomenon to: presentation. How you present the story to your audience makes all the difference.

Lupus: in my original story idea (before I had included the sorcerers and such), Lupus's part was extremely different. He still had a loving wife and daughter and a dog named Dokoto, but his name was Arthur, he was in a wheelchair and he had a much more personal (but not friendly) relationship with Jin'ei stemming back to childhood. Jin'ei was going end up using Morgan to get him to cooperate and he ultimately ended up burning to death with Dokoto in a fire.

I hated it. It made things _way_ to complicated and seriously wrecked the overall logic of the plot. After viewing the episode that changed my mind about the story's direction, I initially removed him from the plot. As Jin'ei developed, however, it became obvious that such a person would sooner use an underling than get his own hands dirty, so he reappeared in the story line. I tried several different possibilities, most of which still kept the idea of a guy in a wheelchair. In the end, as you can well see, the only thing that remained the same was that his daughter's name was Morgan and his dog's name was Dokoto. Classic example of how a writer shouldn't become too attached to his original ideas.

"They look like good strong hands, don't they?" If any of you have read or seen The Never Ending Story, you probably recognize this line, where the Rockbiter talks about how he failed to protect his friends. That was the image that lead Lupus to develop into the character he ultimately became. In the end, I even made Lupus's hands a symbol of his character, which worked out quite well, since his hands were deformed and made for great description. Lupus ultimately became a secondary villain. In his case, however, I wanted the audience to pity him, just because I love stories where you can feel sorry for the bad guy; where he's more than just someone who fights the heroes. From the moment that I put Lupus into the position of seeking vengeance, his part was set. Choosing to form a connection between Misty and Morgan in his mind was something that I came up with to help me develop Lupus into the kind of person I wanted him to be.

As a whole, however, Lupus remains an enigmatic character. Many of the whys about his life are intentionally left as unanswered questions.

Those of you who read the first draft will probably note the change in chapter 8, the biggest change I made. Yes, Lupus is a masochist. Something I really wanted to stress about his character was that he really hated himself. I was too vague in the first draft, I think, and I seriously doubt that most of the readers got the real point. Lupus hated himself, not because of his failure to protect his family, or because he had murdered people, but because of what he was. For one thing, the very person he was had degraded so much that he had forgotten his own name. He was no longer a human, or a beast, or even a thing. He was just a purpose; a purpose that he knew was corrupted, but that he was still unable to move away from. He had become trapped that purpose until he lost all sense of self and only lived for vengeance. To be accurate, he didn't live for vengeance, he was vengeance. If you understand what I am saying, it should leave you feeling sick to your stomach.

The other thing he hated himself for was because he wouldn't die. It's not natural for a person to live that long. Death is a part of the natural world and, in the end, all people accept death when their time comes. Lupus, however, was denied death. He had accepted that his reason for living was finished, had accepted that it was his time to die, yet he still lived on and on and on and on. He longed for death because he had no reason to live. I don't know how many of you share my vision of heaven, or even believe that such a thing exists, but it really makes no difference. Man is not meant to live that long and if he keeps on living after he has completed his life, he will end up longing for death because it is the next natural step.

Others: I was quite surprised by the large number of supporting characters that I added. All of these characters served only one of two purposes; presenting my concept of the Conclave, or further developing Jin'ei's character. Catherine and Rogers were both put in to give the audience an idea of the kind of people Jin'ei surrounded himself with. Catherine and Jin'ei's relationship was a twisted one meant specifically to show his need to control others and his lack of concern for human dignity. Rogers was the classic loyal family butler and the only person my villain considered a friend. Not very original, but sufficient to serve his purpose. It was the same for Amelia, who, if not for his selfishness, may have been Jin'ei's wife instead of Catherine. Even little Jeremy had a subtle part in developing Jin'ei's character, though if any of my audience don't recognize it, I won't be the one to destroy their naivete.

Plot and Presentation

Unlike my first piece of fan fiction, which was meant to be centered on Ash beginning the path to adulthood, The Sentient was intended to be an idea story. Its primary purpose was to present my concept of the Conclave and the order of magic to an audience. As the story progressed, its driving force migrated from its concept to its characters, which is really the only thing could be expected from such a long-winded plot. It's still presenting the concept, though, so I didn't completely loose the initial purpose.

Like a lot stories that feature children as the main characters, Ash became the hero by accident. The Sentient fell into his hands by complete chance (or was it chance? You can't really be sure) and suddenly all these events are thrust upon him because of it. He doesn't have much control of what's going on, so he simply goes along for the ride. At the same time, however, what he does directly controls what happens to him, so it makes for a very unusual setup.

I had decided beforehand that I was not going to include the Pokemon League in my story. I never really liked the idea anyway; it's ridiculously underdeveloped and the show focuses on it way too much. I also didn't want to use Team Rocket either, since that would mean TRT would, by necessity, get involved. Sorry to all Jessie and James fanatics, but I just plain hate the characters. Both of these aspects get mentioned, since they are a part of the world, but they have no direct part in the story itself. Instead, I wanted to pull the story away from the usual focus of Pokemon and really see what could be done some of the show's ideas.

One of the biggest challenges was to present Lupus correctly. The first time around, I messed up. What I wanted people to see in Lupus is that he had degraded so much that he had lost touch with his humanity. He no longer felt emotion or had desires, he just existed. He didn't really even hate the sorcerers any more and, in the back of his mind, he knew that what he was doing was wrong, but he had been killing them for so long that he believed that he couldn't do anything else.

For another thing, Lupus had lost touch with who he really was. Misty had begun to awaken that in him and it caused conflict with his character, to the point that he became like two people. The climax of his conflict was that Misty helped Lupus overcome the hunter and drive him away. This is something I really respect about women. While Misty never raises a hand to fight Jin'ei, she is a heroine in her own right, just as much as Ash is the hero, because she saves Lupus.

Another thing that people do wrong is with villains. Even now, a lot of people still make the mistake of thinking that the villain is just a bad guy, so he has no real development. At the same time, some people see this and make a mistake on the opposite extreme. They say that nobody is truly evil and play off that politically correct garbage until they loose all sense of reality in the story, such as in the disastrous Lilo and Stitch TV series.

The simple fact of the matter is that some people are evil. They may have admirable qualities, but that doesn't change anything about what they do and who they are. It just means that it's a pity that they had to go so wrong. Jin'ei is evil. The pokemon understood this quite clearly, because animals can sense these things and that makes the world much simpler for them. With human characters, however, you have to remember that the line is not so easy to establish. You have to find that way to present the villain that says, "Yes, there's good things about him, but he's still doing evil things."

I did this through Amelia. Ash and the others didn't know Jin'ei at all, so there was no way to show this through them. Amelia, on the other hand, loved Jin'ei and had known him for years. She tried to prevent it, resorting to cheap lawyer technicalities in the council meeting, but even she had to accept the truth in the end. That short moment of her internal conflict was the most important part of Jin'ei's character development.

Part of telling a story is knowing what the story needs. A good writer should not consider the audience when he is plotting the story until he is deciding what will best help the audience understand what he is saying. A lot of movies make this mistake and so do even a few books. Sometimes, horrible things happen that will make the audience uncomfortable. The key is to balance the story with gentler and lighter moments, so that the audience sees that there is more to the story than just the shock, though there are times when even that rule must be overturned for the sake of the story (read H. P. Lovecraft).

There are some very socking moments in this story, such as Lupus's masochism. This was, I believe, essential to the development of his character, even though I knew some of my audience would feel sickened by it (I had to stop writing for a bit after that because I, myself, was so disgusted). These moments are balanced out by the softer moments that occur at the end of the story and the moment when Misty helps Lupus to free himself. A lot of directors today screw up this balance by putting humor into the moments themselves. A true master of storycraft will never do this. You should never break the tense moments just to keep your audience from becoming unhappy. This screws up both the pacing and the presentation. The balance of a story is very delicate and you should be careful that you do not upset it, and I worked very hard to maintain it in this story.

While Lupus needed to be helped, Jin'ei was a different matter entirely. I personally believe that you should deal with every villain appropriately according to what they have earned (again, there are exceptions, but I really can't think of any good examples of when this was done correctly). With Jin'ei, I had no idea what that was. I wanted Jin'ei's defeat to be poetically correct. For most villains, an appropriate death is good enough, but Jin'ei was a special case. In some cases, what villains do and how they develop dictates that death is either to much or not enough. In Jin'ei's case, death was letting Jin'ei off too easily. For his pride, the most appropriate end was humiliation, so I stacked more and more shame and disgrace upon him until he ended up in an utterly ridiculous (and humorous) situation.

A lot of themes are weaved into this story. I had no particular message in mind when I started plotting the story, but once the story found its own theme, I worked on finding the best way to present that to the audience. The number one rule as a writer is that the purpose of your writing is to tell a story. Nothing, not even the theme, should interfere with that. While a good story will have a theme, the best will present that theme in a subtle way, one that fits naturally with the story and doesn't distract the audience. A lot of times, people end up making themselves sound preachy when they try to work themes into a story because they try to push a message upon their audience instead of letting the story find its own message. When done right, the people who really enjoy your work will be able to argue for hours amongst themselves about what exactly you are trying to say, while those who just read it will probably not see any theme at all. That's the beauty of a well crafted story; you take away from the story whatever meaning you want to. In that respect, I think I did quite well.

Conclusion

So, what do I have left to say? Now that The Sentient is complete, I move on to bigger projects. I have enjoyed writing this story and gained a lot of valuable experience from those few of you who provided me with feedback. Just writing something with the intent that an audience would be seeing it has taught me quite a bit. My presentation skills have improved dramatically and the stories flow much more smoothly. I would like to thank the audience for their time. Without your feedback, The Sentient would never have seen fruition.

Sayonara and happy writing,

Reynold James Dalton

* * *

Draft 2 is finally completely submitted. Boy, am I glad that's over.

It's spring right now, and I'm in the middle of my creative burst. In other words, stories are shooting out of me like bullets from a machine gun. I've got a couple of projects running right now and I've decided that amidst it all (because I can), I'm going to write another fanfiction. Trouble is, I have a couple of ideas and I can't decide which one to do.

One of them, Criminal Evolution, will be written as a series of short stories focusing on the psychological development of just one character. There will naturally be heavy character development for one character, with lighter development for others and it's story is somewhat simple. What it lacks in plot compexity, though, I promise it will more than make up for with psychological complexity; this character is the most complex character I've ever created.

The second is entitled Thrice Damned. It's a high-adventure fantasy story (moreso than the one you just finished reading). This one has a lot of characters, a long plot with a couple of subplots that tie together towards the middle, and freakish monsters the likes of which you are not likely to have seen before (unless, like me, you are psychologically disturbed and have bizzare and frightening dreams).

I leave the choice to you, my audience, whome I respect and appreciate. Which would you rather read about? A classic fantasy adventure, or a complex character with issues from here to Yugoslavia? The choice is yours. You can send your vote as a review or via E-mail (displayed on my profile page). If you send E-mail, be sure to type in a subject that tells me why your letter is about, else I might throw it away by mistake.

If nobody says anything about which they'd rather read, then I'll just flip a coin.


End file.
